
,1 



THE 



CHRISTIAN PROFESSION: 



A SERIES OP 



LETTERS TO A FRIEND, 



ON THE 



NATURE, DUTIES, NECESSITY, TEIALS AND SUPPORTS 
OF THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



JOSEPH CLAYBAUaH, D. D. 




MOORE, WILSTACH, XEYS & CO.. 
25 TOST FOURTH STREET. 



Library 
W Congress 

- f 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 
MOOP.E, WILSTACH, KEYS & CO., 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Ohio. 



TV. OVEREND & CO., Pkixters. 

CINCINNATI. 



PREFACE. 



The Author has long felt the need of a Manual, 
presenting briefly and together, the points treated of 
in this little volume, to be put into the hands of 
young persons and others standing at the threshold 
of the Church, and likewise into the hands of Church 
members, as occasion may require. Those excellent 
works which have been written on different parts of 
the subject — some covering more, and some less of 
the whole ground — such as Jay's Christian Contem- 
plated, and James's True Christian, Christian Pro- 
fessor and Christian Duty, do not just meet the 
want, which a Manual of this kind is designed to 
meet. On the other hand, a small work of this 
character, may serve to turn attention to those 
works, in which different points on the same, or 



iv 



PREFACE. 



kindred subjects, are more largely discussed. It is 
sent forth as an humble laborer with those admira- 
ble works, not at all pretending to take rank with 
them, but desiring to contribute its mite to the same 
cause — to the glory of our common Lord ; to whose 
favor and blessing it is humbly commended. 

OxFOED, Ohio, August 1, 1854 



co:ntents. 



LETTEE I. 

IXTEODUCTOEY. 

Prejudices against tlie Christian Profession — The Chris- 
tian Profession delayed — False views of its nature and 
duties — The Church reduced to a worldly standard — 
The moral power of the Christian Profession impaired 
— Subjects of the proposed Letters 9 

LETTEE II, 

THE NATURE OF THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

Facts and principles which this Profession implies — Be= 
lievers profess to take Christ as their Saviour, and to es- 
pouse his cause — Avow subjection to Christ as their 
Lawgiver and King — This Profession is a testimony — 
Becomes a confession — Visible Church a divinely con- 
stituted society — How described— Its design and its 
connection with the Christian Profession — Sacramental 
seals,.. \ 19 

LETTEE III. 

DUTIES OF THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

Christians a peculiar people — Their peculiar character 
grows out of the Gospel as a scheme of mercy — Source 
of Christian Character — Motives — Christian obligation 
the same now as in the Apostolic age, 33 



vi 



CONTENTS. 



LETTER lY. 

DUTIES OF THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION— CONTINUED. 

Internal char act eristics — Saving knowledge of God and of 
Jesus Christ — ^Faith on the Lord Jesus Christ — Genu- 
ine repentance — Love to God and the Saviour — Univer- 
sal benevolence — The love of the brethren — a spirit of 
identification with Christ — Fixing the heart on hea- 
venly things, and expectation of the Saviour — Vital 
importance of these inward principles, 42 

L E T T E E V . 

DUTIES OF THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION— CONTINUED. 

Outward duties — Observance of Gospel Institutions — The 
practice of the social virtues, 53 

LETTER VI. 

DUTIES OF THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION— CONTINUED. 

The passive virtues — humility — meekness — self-denial — 
forbearance — forgiveness — Importance in Christian 
Character, 71 



LETTER VII. 

DUTIES OF THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION— CONCLUDED. 

Studying the welfare of the Christian commonwealth — Bro- 
therly love — Peace of the Church — Firm maintenance 
of the testimony of the Church — Religious conversation 
— ^Meetings for conference and prayer — Efi'orts to con- 
vert sinners — Religious training of children — General 
education — Education of daughters — Honoring the Lord 
with our substance — Prayer for Zion, 78 



CONTENTS. Vli 
LET TEE YIII. 

THE IMPORTANCE AND NECESSITY OF THE CHRISTIAN 
PROFESSION. 

An incident in the life of our Lord — Direct proof— Two ex- 
planations, for the purpose of guarding against mistake 
and of meeting objections — Necessity of the Christian 
Profession further argued, from the necessity of uni- 
versal disobedience^ — The command, " This do in re- 
membrance of me'^ — The non-professor disobedient, and 
convicted of rebellion against Zion^s King, of unbelief 
and impenitence, 9o 

LETTER IX. 

NECESSITY OF THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION— CONTINTJED. 

Further argued from the fact that Christ's presence and 
blessings are promised only to the Church — Salvation 
of the Church of God, and out of the Church no ordi- 
nary possibility of salvation, 114 

LET TEE X. 

NECESSITY OF THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION— CONCLUDED. 

Further argued from the demands of our social natures — Pe- 
culiar danger of young men— The Christian Profession a 
shield — A profession of religion necessary to the filial 
and comfortable discharge of other duties — This Profes- 
sion a necessary check — Two classes of non-professors, 
the careless, the serious and thoughtful, pleas and 
excuses, 124 

LETTEE XI. 

THE TRIALS OF THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

Our Lord^s forewarnings on this subject — Trials from self, 
or indwelling sin, in its various deceitful workings . 142 



viii CONTENTS. 

LETTEE XII. 

TRIALS OF THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION— CONCLUDED. 

Trials from tlie world, in its temptations, social influences, 
hatred, opposition, reproach, persecution — Opposition 
from friends — Trials from brethren in the Church — 
Temptations of Satan,. 160 

LETTEE XIII. 

SUPPORTS AND CONSOLATIONS OF THE CHRISTIAN 
PROFESSION. 

Promised, but not to the false professor — Sense of accept- 
ance with God — Christ's seryice in itself delightful 
as well as reasonable — Pleasure in the play of Chris- 
tian affection, and in the performance of duty — The 
constraining power of the love of Christ — Trials, light, 
short, honorable, rewarded — Hope of future reward . 180 

LETTEE XIV. 

SUPPORTS AND CONSOLATIONS OF THE CHRISTIAN 
PROFESSION— CONCLUSION. 

Assurance of support — ^Promises — Conscious right by grace 
to the blessings of God's people — Confidence in plead- 
ing the promises — Prayer — Gloriation in God — The Sa- 
viour's peace, hope, assurance, spiritual triumphs — 
Folly and danger of dela}- — Diligence in duty iirged — 
Obligations— "Warning against unbelief — Unfitness for 
Church membership — Unfitness for heaven — Coming 
glory of the Christian Profession — Its heavenly and 
eternal glory, 194 



LETTERS 

ON THE 

CHRISTIAN PEOFESSION. 



LETTER I. 

INTRODUCTOKY, 
My Deab Friend: — 

There Tvas a time when it was fashionable to 
deny the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, and 
to sneer at the religion of our Lord Jesus Christ 
as a cheat. Then you might have heard the 
would-be philosopher, and the young man, who 
wished to be considered wiser than other people 
and a man of spirit, affecting to laugh at the 
credulity and weakness of Christians. Happily 
this age has in a great measure gone by. There 
1 



10 



INTRODUCTOEY. 



is a great deal of infidelity in the world, and of 
iate years it seems to be again on the increase : 
bnt it has, for the most part, to keep itself 
masked. The Bible has triumphed, time and 
again, over the open attacks of its enemies, and 
demonstrated its claims to the faith and obedi- 
ence of all men, as the sure and infallible word 
of the Living God. "With a few extreme excep- 
tions, all classes profess to revere the Scriptures, 
and any open disrespect to them is regarded as 
a mark of ignorance and vulgarity, or reckless 
hostility to what is good. Few men, who wish 
to pass for respectable men, dare to avow their 
infidelit3^ It is felt, that such an avowal would 
expose a man at once to suspicion, pity and eon- 
tempt ; hence none make it, but the recklessly 
depraved. All others regard themselves, and 
wish to be regarded, as Christians — in theory, 
at least, if not in practice ; and most men would 
feel insulted to be called anything else. The 
Scriptures are even wrested to support some of 
the very worst forms of infidelity. 

But while it is fashionable to call the Bible 
the word of God, and to count Jesus Christ the 



PREJUDICES AGAI2CST CHRISIIA^^ PROrESSIOX. 11 



Saviour of tlie Avoiicl, and His religion divine, it 
is very common for nngodly men to denounce 
the Churcli, the Gospel-ministry, and the Chris- 
tian profession. And it can scarcely have escaped 
your notice, that there is, especially among young 
men and husiness men, not only a prevailing 
indifference, but a prejudice, against making 
and maintaining a Christian profession. It is, 
in many quarters, come to he considered rather 
unmanlv. It is reD;arded as somethino^ becom- 
ing enough for the weaker sex, and for the 
sickly, the hypochondriacal, the aged, and those 
drawing near the tomb, but unworthy the atten- 
tion of the young man of spirit, or the vigorous 
aspirant for the honors and emoluments of life. 
The Christian profession is regarded as a gloomy 
thing, full of discomfort and destitute of joy. 
When a man joins the Church, he is looked upon 
by many as signing away his liberty, and becom- 
ing, in some degree, unfitted for the business 
and enjoyments of life. Professors of religion 
are often indiscriminately called hypocrites, and 
it is a saying current in the mouths of many, 
That a man can be as good a Christian out of 



12 



IXTEODUCTORY. 



the Cliurcli as in it. The neeessitY and import- 
ance of the Christian profession are certEiinly 
not duly felt, and its duties and advantages are 
neither understood nor considered. 

Perhaps, my y^ung friend, you are living 
where such senriments as these are entertained, 
and may your>elf be a subject of this indifter- 
ence. and of these prejudices : and it may be, 
that withal, you are contenting yourself with 
the hope that you are a Christian, and that it 
vrill in the end be well with you. though you 
are not a professor of religion. If this is your 
case, you are in a very unsafe condition. You 
are living in di-obedience to the most explicit 
injunctions of the Eedeemer. and in neglect of 
his appointed means of grace. In refusing to 
join his church, and profess his name, and walk 
by the laws he has given his disciples, you are 
not acting the part of a friend of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, but more like an enemy : and his ene- 
mies know how to claim you. You are robbing 
Christ of his due honor, and your o^tl soul of 
much good : and it may be ill — sadly ill — 
with you in the end. 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION DELAYED. 13 

Or, YOU may be delaying to make a profes- 
sion for the present, purposing to do it after a 
while ; and this may have been the case with, 
you for years ; and you may just now be as 
little inclined to own Christ and take his yoke 
upon you, and bear it, as you haye eyer been. 
With your delay, your difficulties increase, ra- 
ther than disappear ; and instead of an increasing 
interest, you experience a growing indifference. 
If this is your condition, your soul is in danger. 
Whateyer you intend to do, you are, for the 
present, disobeying Christ, and risking your 
eternal all. You know not what instant death 
may surprise you in this state ; and should you 
be spared eyen to old age, the prospect of your 
doing better is becoming darker and darker, 
eyery day you delay ; and when you come to be 
an old man, should you liye to be an old man, 
you run a great risk of being like many other 
old men in our land, a mere worldling — a cold 
respecter of religion — an unfeeling hearer of 
the Gospel ■ — or, a hardened scoffer. 

In either case, you need, forthwith, to take 
the subject of the Christian profession into serious 



14 



INTRODUCTORY. 



consideration. Remember, that as with the 
heart man believeth unto righteousness, so with 
the month, confession is made unto salvation. 
Eememher, that noiv is the accepted time, and 
that to-day is the day of salvation. And what- 
soever yonr hand finds to do, do it with your 
mio'ht. Summons vour utmost eneroies. when 
the interests of eternity are at stake. Hearken 
to the voice of Jesus I He calls to you. Strive 
to enter in at the strait gate ; for many, I 
say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall 
not be able.^^ 

Possibly you may have made up your mind 
to join the Church, or may already be a profess- 
ing member, and yet have never duly considered 
the nature, importance, duties and obligations, 
or the trials and supports of the Christian pro- 
fession. In many places, it is fashionable to 
make a profession of religion. In such places, 
many join the Church without thinking much 
about it. It is expected of them to join when 
they come to a certain age, and it would be odd 
in them not to belong. It would be gratifying 
to their parents and friends for them to join. 



FALSE VIEWS OF ITS NATURE AND DUTIES. 15 



It will add to their respectability, and be to 
their interest. It is also desirable to have one^s 
children baptized ; and when a man comes to 
die, it will be comforting to reflect that he be- 
lono's to the Church, and that he has received 
the sacrament. And then, all that will be 
required, is some knowledge of religion ; a decent 
respect for its institutions ; a life free from vice ; 
to keep the Sabbath, and go to meeting, and 
give a trifle to the support of the gospel ; and 
should one have a family, perhaps to keep up 
family worship, and teach the children the cate- 
chism ; and the way these things are attended 
to, it will be no difficult matter to satisfy the 
Church, provided you join it. It is to be feared, 
that thousands join the Church, who look at the 
matter about in this light, and consider nothing 
more. Such certainly need to take a new view 
of the subject; and should the reader of this 
friendly letter belong to this class, I would say 
to him, My Friend, beware, lest while you have 
a name to live, you be yet dead. Take heed, 
that vou be not traveling; down to hell with a 
lie in your right hand. The kingdom of God is 



id 



IXTRODrCTORY. 



not a mere form, but a living, heartfelt reality ; 
it is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and 
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost — not in word, 
hut in poTver. With all your profession and 
forms, Jesus Christ may at last say to you. De- 
part from me ; I never knew you. 

There is a great deal of loose profession, and 
a great deal of loose walking in the Christian 
profession. Jesus Christ is sorely wounded in 
His own house, and by his professed friends. 
Custom, instead of the law of Christ, seems to 
be the standard. Conscience, with many, has 
very little to do in the matter. There is not 
that manifest difference, which should exist, be- 
tween the professed followers of Christ and the 
people of the world. The Church is too much 
like the world, and everything in her is reduced 
too much to a worldlv standard. Instead of 
church-members acting in such a manner that 
the world shall be constrained to take knowl- 
edge of them that they have been with Jesus, 
and have learned of him, and become imitators of 
him ; instead of being living epistles of recom- 
mendation in favor of tlie truth, excellence and 



ITS MORAL POWER IMPAIRED. 17 

power of the Christian religion, their imperfec- 
tions too often throw stnrnbling-hlocks in the 
way of persons even not ^hollv destitute of seri- 
ousness, while they giye occasion to the openly 
ungodly to blaspheme. 

It is emlent, that the nature and duties of 
the Christian profession should be more studied 
by church-members themselyes. To any seri- 
ous-minded Christian, the thought that he may, 
by his im-Christ-IiJce conduct, haye proyed a 
stumbling-block to the inquirer, or giyen a 
handle to the scoffer, will be painfully distress- 
ing. And, my Christian friend, may you not 
well entertain the question, whether you haye 
been guilty in this matter? And with this 
question before you. may you not well take a 
re^uew of your life, and a suryey of your duties 
as a professing member of the Church ? 

In yiew of the considerations suggested in 
these remarks, I propose, in a series of Letters, to 
submit to your candid reflection, a few thoughts 
on the nature, duties, importance and necessity, 
peeidiar trials, supports and consohtio7is of tJie 
Christian profession. I wish to write as a friend, 



18 



INTROBUCTORY. 



seeking at once your liigliest good, and the glorv 
of Christ ; and you are, for your own sake and 
for the love of Christ, earnestly entreated to 
read prayerfully, in the fear of God. Soon we 
shall both appear before his judgment-seat, and 
give in our account respecting the matters treated 
of in these Letters. 

Yours, 



LETTER II. 



THE NATURE OF THE CHRISTIAX PROFESSION. 

My Deae Feiexd: — 

I WISH, in this letter, to call your attention 
to the nature of the Christian Profession. It is 
often in the Scriptnres called, confessing Christ 
before men: — '^Whosoever shall confess me be- 
fore men, him shall the Son of Man also confess 
"before the ano^els of God ; but he that denieth 
me before men, shall be denied before the angels • 
of Grod.'' — Luke xii, 8. " That if thou shalt con- 
fess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shalt 
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him 
from the dead, thou shalt be saved ; for with 
the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and 
with the mouth, confession is made unto salva- 
tion.^' — Eom. X, 9, 10. Jesus Christ, the Eter- 



20 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSIOX. 



nal Son of G-ocl in our nature, having died for 
US and risen again, and being by the riglit- hand 
of G-od exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, to 
give repentance and the remission of sins, and 
having caUed us by his grace unto fellowship 
viih hiniseli' as heirs of life eternal, calls upon 
us to profess our faith in him. and our love and 
obedience to him. and publicly and openly to 
espouse his cause. serTOe and glory, in this 
ungodly world. 

The state of matters is just this : — ^Our world 
has apostatized from God. and the human race 
is a race of rebels and enemies against him : all 
have sinned and all are living in sin. The 
whole world lieth in wickedness : ungodliness is 
popular : men revel, delight and glory, in that 
which is both their ruin and shame. As sin- 
ners, they are. in the righteous judgment of 
God, condemned to endless perdition : and they 
are so utterly debased as to be wholly incapable 
of loving God. and of enjoyment in his presence 
or service. They are irreconcilably averse to 
theii' true dig-nity and interests, as rational and 
immortal beings, and to the great end of their 



PRINCIPLES IMPLIED. 



21 



being, which is to glorify and enjoy God forever. 
They are the subjects of a carnal mind, which 
is enmity against God, and not subject to his 
law, neither indeed can be. They need an atone- 
ment for their sin, but they can not effect it. 
They need a change of heart, but they can not 
work it. They are without strength, dead in 
trespasses and sins, and everlasting destruction 
is before them. — Eom. ii, 8, 9; 2d Thess. i, 8, 9, 
with Eph. ii, 1, 3. Kow, Jesus Christ, the Eter- 
nal Son of God, the brightness of the Father's 
glory and the express image of his person, the 
Creator and Upholder of all worlds, whom all 
the angels of God worship, has come into the 
world that sinners of our fallen race might have 
life, and that they might have it abundantly. 
Himself the True and Living God, he yet be- 
came man, assumed the responsibilities of sinful 
men to the broken law and offended justice 
of God, and obeyed and died in their room. 
He loved us and hath given himself for us, an 
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smell- 
ing savor. By this means, he purchased par- 
don, and obtained the Spirit of life and holiness, 



22 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

"by whose agency the life of God is restored in 
the souls of sinners, by nature spiritually dead. 
Thus he becomes the author of eternal salva- 
tion. Eemission of sins, spiritual life, and ever- 
lasting favor and blessedness with God are pro- 
vided and secured in his name and by the merit 
of his surety, obedience, and expiatory death. 

These things are proclaimed in the Gospel 
as the free gift of God through Jesus Christ — 
they are proclaimed and offered to all — and they 
actually accrue to all those who believe ; that 
is, to all who simply and truly accept them as 
the gift of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Now in confessing Christ before men, we make 
a public declaration, that we do own and ac- 
knowledge Jesus Christ the Eternal Son of God, 
who became man and died for sinners, to satisfy 
Divine Justice for their sins, and reconcile them 
to God, as the Saviour, and the only Saviour of 
sinners, and that we do take him as our Saviour, 
and love and honor him as such. He is the Apos- 
tle and High-Priest of our pi^ofession. We avow 
our faith in all that he is, and in all that he 
has done, and in all that he reveals as a Saviour. 



HIS CAUSE ESPOUSED. 



23 



We proclaim our belief in his doctrines and our 
dependence on his Vv^ork, and profess before all 
men, and call npon men to bear witness, that 
we take Jesus Christ as the Author and Fin- 
isher of our faith, and that we build our eternal 
hopes on what he hath done and suffered, and 
on what he continues to work by his Spirit and 
grace ; and that we have no other hope. 

We come out from the world, and proclaim 
ourselves on his side. We leave the rank and 
file of his enemies, and join in the ranks of his 
friends and followers. We publicly engage to 
be the Lord's, and solemnly protest that we 
belong to him, and bind ourselves by solemn 
covenant to be his, and to love his name and 
serve him. — Is. xliv, 5 ; Ivi, 6. We espouse 
openly his cause. He was manifested to destroy 
the works of the Devil, and to establish a king- 
dom in righteousness and truth ; and in this his 
great work and undertaking, we enlist in his 
service and addict ourselves to his interests. 
We then, in this profession engage to make 
common cause with him against all error, and 
wickedness, and ungodliness ; against all immo- 



24 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

rality and vice ; against all that is derogatory 
to tlie glory and government of God, or the 
good of man ; against all that is incompatible 
with the teachings, the spirit or object of that 
Gospel which proclaims, " Glory to God in the 
highest, on earth peace, good-will toward men/' 

We also avow Christ to be our Lawgiver and 
our King, as head of his Church, and head over 
all things to his Church ; as having a peculiar 
right to reign over and control us. We take 
his yoke upon us, and engage to submit to his 
government ; to make his will our law, and his 
Word our rule of conduct ; to abide by his stat- 
utes, and walk in his commandments and ordi- 
nances. Every professor of religion is profess- 
edly under law to Christ. Christ will own 
no man as his disciple, who obeys not the com- 
mand, " Take my yoke upon you, and learn of 
me;'' who does not submit his will to that of the 
Saviour, inquiring with the humility and obedi- 
ence of a loyal and loving subject, Lord, what 
wilt thou have me do?" 

Now, in this confession, or profession, we tes- 
tify against* and condemn the sin and apostasy 



SUBJECTION TO CHRIST AS LAWGIVER. 



25 



of the world ; we renounce sin, and the sinful 
courses and erroneous principles of the world ; 
own subjection and swear allegiance to God, and 
avow our determination to lead a religious and 
holy life. All this operates as a rebuke upon 
all those who continue to live in sin and in the 
rejection of Christ, and upon all who do not 
take the same open stand which we do. Hence 
this profession, if consistent and decided, will 
expose those who make it to the hatred of the 
world, and to reproach and persecution, more or 
less open and violent, according to the circum- 
stances of the age in which they live. Of this our 
Saviour gave his disciples and all who heard him, 
full and repeated warning: "If any man will come 
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his 
cross and follow me.'^ " If ye were of the world, 
the world would love its own; but because ye are 
not of the world, but I have chosen you out of 
the world, therefore the world hateth you.^^ It 
is perfectly natural, and therefore a thing to be 
expected, that the ungodly should transfer their 
hatred of God and his Christ, to his friends, 

who bear his image and have espoused his cause. 
•> 



26 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

Other professions may be popular, but an alien- 
ated world hates the Christian profession ; and 
every one making it should lay out his accounts 
to meet with indications of this hatred. AH 
that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer 
persecution. Hence moral courage — that moral 
courage which proceeds from faith in God and 
love to Christ — is necessary in order to make 
and maintain this profession. 

This profession is a confession. In making it, 
the followers of the Eedeemer confess that, of 
which men naturally are ashamed, and own to 
that which men glory in denying. There is 
really nothing of which the unrenewed heart is 
so prone to be ashamed, as it is of a vital con- 
nection with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not 
only Jews, and Pagans, and Mahometans, and 
Infidels, that deny Christ, but nominal Christ- 
ians ; carnal men, who admit that Jesus Christ 
is the Saviour of sinners, and who would wish to 
be called Christians, and not Pagans or Infidels. 
How many such are, nevertheless, ashamed of 
Him as their Saviour, as that One whom they 
personally honor with a spiritual and penitent 



VISIBLE CHURCH DIVINELY ORGANIZED. 27 



reliance, love and obedience ; and they take good 
care to show, that, in this sense they are not his 
followers ; and often, even delight, in one way 
or other, to annoy and vex those who are. 

In the Christian Profession, a man professes 
his faith in the doctrine of Christ — his accept- 
ance of his salvation — his willingness to obey 
his commands — and his enlistment in his cause. 

The Visible Church is a society composed of 
those who make this profession. It is the will 
of the Saviour, that his friends be united and 
bound together in one organized society, placed 
under certain laws and regulations, and furnished 
with peculiar institutions ; all adapted to pro- 
mote the growth, prosperity and efficiency of the 
society. This is a most wise arrangement, 
founded in the social nature of man, and in 
harmony with the whole social system on our 
earth. The friends of Jesus, thus associated, 
will lend mutual aid and support. Each one 
w^ill be benefited by the arrangement, and will 
be the means of benefiting his brethren. They 
all need, and will all be the better of, favorable 
social influences. The several institutions of 



28 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

this society, too, are, like all the institutions of 
Heaven, admirably adapted to draw out these 
influences, and bring them to bear in fullest 
measure ; while they serve to concentrate, direct 
and invigorate the energies of the Eedeemer's 
friends, and thereby render his cause successfully 
aggressive in our world. 

This society — the Church — holds a prominent 
place in the Scriptures, where it passes under 
different names, such as the house of God; the 
household of faith ; the church of the Living Ood; 
the pillar and ground of the truth; the fold of 
Christ; the commomvealth of Israel; the kingdom 
of God; the kingdom of Heaven; the hody of Christ, 
etc., etc. Everywhere in the sacred page, it stands 
out to our view as having a prominent, intimate 
and vital connection with the religion of Christ, 
and its perpetuity and spread in the world; as 
the preserver of the truth and ordinances of the 
Eedeemer ; as the propagator of his salvation ; as 
the asylum of sinners from the ungodly influ- 
ences of the world, and from sin and wrath ; and 
as the seminary of saints, where they are trained 
and educated for heaven. 



THE VISIBLE CHURCH — HOW DESCRIBED. 29 

Among the numerous notices of tiis society, 
wliicli appear in the Word of God, I transcribe, 
for your perusal, the following: There is one 
Body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in 
hope of your calling ; one Lord, one faith, one 
baptism ; one God and Father of all, who is 
above all, and through all, and in you all. For 
as the body is one, and hath many members, and 
all the members of that one body being many, 
are one body; so also is Christ; for by one 
Spirit are we all baptized into one Body, whether 
we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or 
free ; and have been all made to drink into one 
Spirit. But unto every one of us is given grace 
according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 
Wherefore, he saith, when he ascended up on 
high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts 
unto men, And he gave some, apostles; and 
some, prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and 
some, pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting 
of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for 
the edifying of the body of Christ ; till we all 
come, in the unity of the faith, and of the knowl- 
edge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, 



30 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

unto the measure of the stature of the fullness 
of Christ ; that we be henceforth no more chil- 
dren, tossed to and fro, and carried about by 
every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, 
and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait 
to deceive ; but speaking the truth in love, may 
grow up into Him in all things, which is the 
Head, even Christ ; from whom the whole body, 
fitly joined together, and compacted by that 
which every joint supplieth, according to the 
effectual working in the measure of every part, 
maketh increase of the body, to the edifying of 
itself in love/'— Eph. iv, 1-16 ; Cor. xii, 12, 13. 

It is abundantly plain from these, and from 
similar passages which might be quoted, that 
the Church is a society founded and organized 
by Christ — that it is to be composed exclusively 
of the avowed friends of the Eedeemer — that 
the design of the organization is the perfecting 
of its members and the enlargement of their 
number — and that, for this purpose, it is made 
the depository of the doctrines and ordinances of 
Christ, which it is to preserve, and which it is to 
keep in vigorous application; — and all this, in 



DESIGN OF THE VISIBLE CHURCH. 



31 



order that it may be the great instrumental 
agency, by means of which the religion of the 
Lord Jesus Christ shall be maintained and prop- 
agated, and his salvation extended to the ends 
of the earth. 

Hence it follows, that all true friends of Christ 
will seek to be connected with this society ; and 
that the Christian Profession can not be made in 
any other way, than by joining this society. 
Hence, we read, "That the Lord added to the 
Chureh daily, such as should be saved ; or, as it 
might be rendered more literally, the saved f 
i. e. The Lord added to the Church all those who 
became subjects of saving grace ; daily and every 
day, as men became subjects of the Eedeemer's 
saving power, they joined the Church. It was 
by doing this, that they complied with the ex- 
hortation, " Save yourselves from this untoward 
generation.^^ It is only by joining the Church, 
that a man can give the proper public declara- 
tion, that he believes the doctrine of Christ, 
accepts his salvation, espouses his cause, and 
means to wear his yoke. Hence every man who 



32 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



would pass for a Cliristian, must "belong to some 
brancli, or other, of the Church of God. 

There are t'^^o commands of our Saviour, 
obedience to which seals a man's profession, 
and the observance of both of which is insep- 
arable from church-membership. They are, 
Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. The same 
authority which says, Believe in the Lord 
Jesus Christ,'' and, Eepent of your sins," also 
says, Be baptized in the name of the Lord 
Jesus," and, Eat," — Drink," — This do in 
remembrance of me." And the heart that truly 
believes and repents, obeys ; and the law of 
Christ knows no way of professing this faith and 
repentance, but by obedience to these commands ; 
and obedience to them implies church-member- 
ship. You can not be a professor of the reli- 
gion of Jesus, without being baptized, and par- 
taking of the supper of the Lord ; and this you 
can not do, without profaning these ordinances, 
unless you are a member of the Church. 

Yours, 



LETTER III. 



THE DUTIES OF THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

Cliristiaiis a peculiar people — Their peculiar character grows out of 
the Gospel as a scheme of mercy — I\Iotives. 

My Deae Friexd : — 

Let me now invite your attention to the 
DUTIES of the Christian profession. Christians 
are, by their profession, a peculiar people ; they 
are not of the world, but have come out from 
it, and are separate ; they are called " saints ; 
" holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly call- 
ing ; " children of the light and of the day, 
not of the night, nor of darkness ; ^' the chil- 
dren and family of God ; the household of 
faith ; the Church of the Living God ; the 
body of Christ : the kingdom of heaven ; 



34 THE CHRISTIAN PEOFESSION. 

^' the commonwealtli of Israel;'^ and are dis- 
tinguislied by other equally peculiar and strik- 
ing names and titles. They are also appointed 
to be " the light of the world/^ and " the salt 
of the earth ; a chosen generation, a royal 
priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, to 
show forth the praises of Him who hath called 
them out of darkness into his marvelous light/' 
From the nature of their profession — from their 
relations to God, to the Kedeemer, and to the 
world — it is evident that they occupy a most 
responsible position, and that their profession 
involves peculiar duties. 

The duties of this profession are set forth in 
the New Testament, especially in the epistles of 
Paul, with an unction and warmth of affection 
admirably suited to impress the mind and enlist 
the heart. One thing especially worthy of 
attention, is, that these duties are there pre- 
sented as growing out of what God has done 
for us through Jesus Christ ; and are enforced 
upon us by the considerations of the Saviour's 
love, and bound upon us by the obligations of 
his grace. They are urged upon us, not that 



CHEISTIAN CHARACTER — MOTIVES. 



35 



we may thereby merit divine acceptance, or earn 
a price to pnrcliase heaven ; but the Christian 
professor is regarded as already accepted in 
Christ Jesus, and an heir of heaven through 
his righteousness ; and he is called upon to per- 
form these duties from a grateful sense of his 
obligations to that Saviour, who loved him and 
gave himself for him — who died for him and rose 
again : to perform them on the principle which 
David expressed when he said, ^' Thy loving-kind- 
ness is before mine eyes, and I have walked in 
thy truth ; again, when he exclaimed, " What 
shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits 
toward me ? and, again, when he went forth 
in thanksgiving: I will praise thee, 0 Lord, 
with all my heart, and I will glorify thy name 
forevermore : for great is thy mercy toward me, 
and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest 
helL'^ 

Thus when Paul, in his epistle to the Eomans, 
calls the attention of the Christians of that city 
to the duties of their profession, it is not till 
after he has placed before them an exhibition 
of God^s rich, sovereign, and abounding grace 



THE CHRISTIAX PKOFESSION. 



iu tlieir salvation : and then he begins in the 
following strain: — "I beseech von, therefore, 
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present 
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable 
unto God. which is your reasonable service ; and 
be not conformed to the world, but be ye trans- 
formed by the renewing of your minds, that ye 
may prove what is that good, and acceptable, 
and perfect will of God.'' So in his epistles to 
the Corinthians : — '-What! know ye not that 
your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost 
which is in yon. vrhich ye have of God. and ye 
are not your own '? For ye are bought with a 
price : therefore, glorifv God in your body and 
in your spirit, which are God's.'^ What fellow 
ship has righteousness with unrighteousness ? 
and what communion hath light with darkness ? 
and what concord hath Christ with Belial ? or 
what part hath he that believeth with an infi- 
del ? and what agreement hath the temple of 
God with idols ? for ye are the temple of the 
Living God ; as God hath said, I will dwell in 
them and walk in them, and I will be their 
God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore. 



CHRISTIAN CHARACTER — 



:motite?. 



37 



come out from among tliem, and be ye separate, 
saith. the Lord, and toiicli not tlie unclean thing ; 
and I ^'ill receive yon. and will be a father unto 
Tou, and ve shall be mv sons and dauo^hters? 
saith the Lord Almighty. Haying, therefore, 
these promises, dearly beloyed, let us cleanse 
ourselyes from all filthiness of the flesh and 
spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 
Eom. xii, 1-2 ; 1 Cor. yi, 19-20 ; and 2 Cor. 
vi, 14-18. 

Li like manner, in his epistle to the Ephesians, 
lie first directs attention to the unanswerable 
riches of God^s OTace in Christ — to the o^reat 
loye wherewith he loyed us, a loye exceeding all 
dimensions, and passing knowledge — and then 
proceeds to urge the duties of the Christian 
Profession, in the following language : — •'• I, there- 
fore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you, that 
ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye 
are called. I, therefor e,^^ — that is, in view of 
the unspeakable love of God which I have en- 
deavored to set before you, — *• beseech you to 
walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are 
called.^' — Eph. iv, 1. 



38 THE CHRISTIAN PROEESSION. 

Let us, my friend, consider a moment how 
this appeal would present itself to the minds of 
the Christians at Ephesus. They are addressed 
as Christians and members of the Church of 
Christ, living in the midst of the idolatrous and 
the ungodly. The vocation wherewith they were 
called, and of which they are exhorted to walk 
worthy, is the vocation or calling of the Gospel. 
Like their gentile neighbors, they had been 
ignorant of the true God, and of his Son, Jesus 
Christ, dead in trespasses and sins, without 
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of 
Israel, and strangers from the covenants of pro- 
mise, having no hope, and without God in the 
world. They had walked as other gentiles 
walked, in the vanity of their mind — having 
their understanding darkened, being alienated 
from the life of God, through the ignorance that 
was in them, because of the blindness of their 
hearts — and had had their conversation in the 
lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the 
flesh and of the mind, being in all respects 
children of wrath, even as others ; as deeply 
sunk in ignorance and idolatry, as basely and 



CHRISTIAN CHARACTER — MOTIVES. 39 



as wretchedly enslaved to tlie world, the devil, 
and the flesh. But Grod had called them by 
his grace. While their neighbors, acquaint- 
ances, and near friends, still lived on in darkness 
and sin, they had been called into God^s marvel- 
ous light. They had learned the love of God 
in Christ Jesus — had experienced his life-giving 
grace — had tasted the sweetness of pardoning 
mercy through the blood of redemption — had 
been made accepted in the Beloved, and had 
been taught to hope for the riches of the glory 
of his inheritance in the saints. Such was their 
calling. What a stupendous change had they 
undergone ! What a gulf separated them from 
their heathen neighbors ! How deeply indebted 
were they to the love and sovereign grace of 
God ! What duties, what obligations, rested on 
them as Christians, and as members of the 
church of Christ, professing to be called with 
this high, holy, and heavenly calling ! And 
how would the appeal come home to their hearts : 
Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you 

ARE called. 

Owing to the fact that the Gospel has by a 



40 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

general influence elevated societv, and purified 
morals in Christian lands, the change which a 
man undergoes in becoming a Christian, and 
the difference between the Christian profession 
and the world, are not now so striking, but still 
they are radically and essentially the same as 
they were when the Apostle wrote. The Christ- 
ian is still as deeply indebted to the unsearch- 
able riches of grace ; the pit from which he has 
been delivered, is just as deep and fearful; the 
benefits conferred are just as great, and they 
have been procured at the same cost — the sacri- 
fice of the Son of God. The language addressed 
to the Christian then, may, with the .utmost 
propriety, be addressed to the Christian now: 
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, 
that ye henceforth walk not as other gentiles 
walk, in the vanity of their minds, ha^nng the 
understanding darkened, being alienated from 
the life of God, through the ignorance that is 
in them, because of the blindness of their hearts. 
But ye have not so learned Christ, if so be that 
ye have heard him. and have been taught by 
him. as the truth is in Jesus : that ye put off 



CHRISTIAN OBLIGATION SAME IN ALL AGES. 41 



concernino; tlie former conversation, the old 
man Ti'liicli is corrupt according to the deceitful 
lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 
and that ye put on the new man, which after 
God is created in righteousness and true holi- 
ness." 

Christians are still by their profession, a pecu- 
liar people, sustaining peculiar relations, under 
peculiar obligations, and having peculiar duties. 
Of these duties I shall endeavor to present an 
outline in my next. In the meantime, let me 
ask you to read prayerfully the twelfth chapter 
of Paul's epistle to the Eomans, and the fourth, 
fifth, and sixth chapters of his epistle to the 
Ephesians. And may God bless the reading to 
your soul. 

Yours, 



LETTEE IV. 



DTTERXAL CHARACTERISTICS. 

[ The Duties of the Christian Profession, Continued. ] 

My Deae Friexd: — 

I PROPOSE in tliis, and one or t^o subsequent 
Letters, to give you an outline of tlie duties of 
the Christian Profession. I say an outline — for 
nothing more on a subject so comprehensive can 
he attempted in the space of a few short Let- 
ters : 

I. The first duty, that which lies at the foun- 
dation of this whole profession, is to cfwnsh in 
your oivn heart the lorinciples tvhich make the gen- 
uine Christian to differ from all other men. 
These principles are : 

L The saving and heart-affecting knowledge 



' INTERlSrAL CHAKACTEEISTICS, 



43 



of tlie true Grod, and liis Son Jesus Christ. This 
implies the knowledge of ourselves as rational, 
immortal and accountable creatures, as sinners, 
and as sinners favored T\'ith a provision of mercy; 
the knowledge, too, of the law of God in its 
extent, and spirituality, and sanctions ; and the 
knowledge of the way of salvation, by our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

There is an opinion very prevalent, that our 
doctrinal views are of little moment, provided 
only we are sincere. Accordingly, many set 
very little store by the knowledge of religious 
truth — and, practically, it is not cultivated. 
This is a most dangerous fallacy. As rational 
agents we must act under motives, and these are 
supplied in the facts of religion — of which facts 
the doctrines of religion are but the statement. 
How can we love God or the Saviour, or render 
an intelligent ser^dce, with appropriate senti- 
ments of love and gratitude and godly fear, if 
we know not God in his glorious attributes and 
gracious purposes, or are ignorant of the Sa- 
viour in his character, offices, sufferings and 
work? On this subject the Scriptures are very 



44 THE CHRISTIAN PEOFESSION. 

explicit : This is eternal life, that they might 
know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ 
whom thou hast sent/' The truth as it is in Jesus 
is the means by which Grod sanctifies men, and fits 
them for his service on earth, and for happiness 
above. Hence the prayer of the Saviour — 
" Sanctify them through thy truth/' The apos- 
tle Peter teaches us, that if we would grow in 
grace, we must grow in the knowledge of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. But we should 
aim at more than a speculative knowledge — a 
knowledge, which puffeth up — we should seek 
that realizing, heartfelt knowledge of divine 
things, in consequence of which the things of 
God shall take possession of our souls, and the 
truths of his Word become habitually controll- 
ing principles of action. It will avail us nothing 
to have our heads full of religious notions, if our 
hearts are not established with grace. Nay, it 
will only add to our condemnation: To him 
that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to 
him it is sin.'' The kingdom of God is not in 
word, but in power. 

2. True faith on the Lord Jesus Christ. This 



INTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS. 45 

is more than a mere assent to the doctrines 
of Christ, or to the doctrines tanght in the Word 
concerning Christ. It is a taking of him as 
offered in the Gospel, as our own Saviour ; and 
it implies a renunciation of all dependence on 
self, on either our own wisdom, or our own 
righteousness, or our own strength ; a deep feel- 
ing of our own weakness, guilt and depravity; 
and an exclusive, humble and thankful reliance 
on the righteousness and grace of Jesus Christ, 
taking G-od at his word, in the offer which he 
makes of Christ to us, and willing to be saved 
in the Gospel way — that is, saved from our sins, 
and purely by grace. 

3. Genuine repentance for sin. Here the 
soul sees (particularly as exhibited in the suffer- 
ings of Christ), the exceeding sinfulness of sin, 
its hatefulness and danger, and hates it; and 
earnestly longs to be cleansed from its pollution 
and freed from its power. It is not taken up 
with abstract views of sin, but is deeply affected 
with a sense of its own sins, and likewise of 
its own sinfulness ; and is humbled, rendered 
broken and contrite, so that it turns away from 



46 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

all sin with grief, abhorrence, and disgust. This 
state of mind is incompatible with the reserva- 
tion of any known sin, or of any known neglect 
of duty. No true penitent will regard sin, in 
any of its numerous forms, in his heart. On 
the contrary, his prayer will be, " Wash me 
thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me 
from my sin. Cleanse thou me from secret 
faults ; keep back thy servant from presump- 
tuous sins. Order my steps aright in thy word, 
and let no iniquity have dominion over me. 
Search me, 0 God, and know my heart ; try me 
and know my thoughts, and see if there be any 
wicked way in me, and lead me in the way ever- 
lasting.'^ 

4. Love to God and to the Saviour. A su- 
preme esteem of, and delight in his excellence 
and glory, as a being absolutely holy and per- 
fect ; a grateful sense of his kindness to us in 
creating and preserving us, surrounding us with 
so many comforts and mercies, and above all in 
providing salvation for us through the death of 
our Lord Jesus Christ; a deep feeling of the 
obligations resting on us on account of these 



INTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS. 47 

favors, and an humble readiness and fervent 
desire to serve and glorify our Lord and Saviour 
with all our powers, and to the greatest possible 
extent. 

5. A spirit of universal benevolence — of true 
love to mankind, and especially a desire for 
the salvation of the souls of men. The true 
Christian is taught by experience the worth of 
the soul, and he knows that its redemption is 
precious. The law of the second table, Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, is written on 
his heart. He knows the grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for our 
sakes he became poor, that we through his pov- 
erty might be rich ; and he knows that the same 
mind should be in him which was also in Christ 
Jesus. A principle of self-denying benevolence, 
especially such as sets a high valuation on the 
souls of men, and prompts to labor for their 
salvation, is pre-eminently a Christ-like prin- 
ciple ; the appropriate effect of true faith in his 
Gospel, not only recommended by his example, 
but enforced by the love of God to us, and na- 
tively growing out of love to God in us. 



48 



THE CHRISTIAX PROFESSION. 



6. The love of the brethren : that is, the love 
of all who give evidence that they belong to 
Christ. It is the love of men for Christ's sake, 
and on account of theii' relation to Christ ; as 
objects of his redeeming love, subjects of his 
grace, partakers of his image and spirit, mem- 
bers of his family, and heirs of his salvation. 
The Christian regards and loves all such, as 
brethren ; as members of the same spiritual 
family, and heirs of the same hope, and cherish- 
ing the same interests and affections "^th him- 
self. If vre love him that begat, -we will also 
love him that is begotten of Him.'' ^' Hereby 
shall all men knovr that ye are my disciples ; — 
if ye love one another." If it be unnatural for 
those who are united in one family by the per- 
ishing ties of earth, not to love one another ; 
much more for those who are indissolublv united 
in the family of God, by the sacred and imper- 
ishable ties of grace, not to love one another. 

Seeing ye have purified your souls, in obeying 
the truth through the spirit, unto unfeigned 
love of the brethren, see that ye love one 
another, with a pure heart fervently : being 



INTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS. 49 



born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incor- 
ruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and 
abideth forever/' 

7. A spirit of identification with Christ. With 
a feeling of oneness with him as our representa- 
tive in law, and as our source of spiritual influ- 
ences, there should also be a cherished identi- 
fication with him in cause, interest and object. 
Having bought us with his blood — being our 
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemp- 
tion — being our forerunner, who has entered 
into heaven and taken possession of it for us — 
and being about to come and receive us to him- 
self, that, where he is, there we may be also ; 
we assuredly should feel that we belong to him, 
and should make common cause with him against 
all that is evil, and goes to support the kingdom 
of darkness, and in favor of that kingdom which 
it is his great work to set up in the world. This 
feeling of identification with Christ is admirably 
expressed by the apostle in his epistle to the 
Galatians : For I through the law am dead to 
the law, that I might live unto God; I am cru- 
cified with Christ, nevertheless I live ; yet not I 
4 



60 THE CHUISTIAN PROFESSION. 



but Christ livetli in me; and the life which I 
now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the 
Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for 
me.'^ 

Finally — Connected with these principles, I 
would mention one more, namely, a fixing of the 
heart on heavenly things. Men of the world 
have their part or portion here ; the love of the 
world is their ruling affection ; the lust of the 
flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life 
their reigning desires. It is otherwise with the 
Christian. He is risen with Christ, and has 
been taught to seek those things which are above, 
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 
God is his portion, and heaven his inheritance 
and home. He is dead, and his life is hid with 
Christ in God ; and, when Christ, Avho is his life, 
shall appear, then shall he also appear with him 
in glory. To this he looks forward with earnest 
expectation and hope, as the grand conclusion of 
all the joys and sorrows, the temptations, labors, 
and conflicts of this present life. Hence the 
Christian is described as ''looking for Christ,^^ 
as ''loving his appearing,'^ as "looking for that 



INTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



51 



blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our 
great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave 
himself for us, that he might redeem us from all 
iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people, 
zealous of good works/' ^-For our conversation 
is in heaven, from whence also we look for the 
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change 
our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto 
his own glorious body, according to the working 
whereby he is able even to subdue all things to 
himself" 

These, my Friend, are vital principles in 
Christian character, and lie at the foundation of 
all that is either peculiar or excellent in the 
Christian Profession. Without these, the per- 
formance of Christian duties is but a formal ser- 
vice — a body without a soul. Without these 
principles, though a man may keep up such a 
form of religion as will pass him for a decent 
professor, he v/ill not show that power and spirit 
of godliness which impart a character of life to 
all that the Christian does ; and adorn and re- 
commend the gospel he can not, as one who is 
really a partaker of this holy calling. In all 



52 THE CHEISTIAN PROFESSION. 

liis religious performances, he is evidently not 
in his element. Some unworthy considerations 
may stimulate him in some duties — in some 
things he may display a burning zeal — but in 
that whole range of duty which makes up the 
sum total of a Christian walk and conversation, 
he drags heavily; and in many things, chiefly 
in those which specially characterize the Christ- 
ian, he is totally defective. 

I have spent so much time, my Friend, on 
these inward principles of the Christian life, that 
I shall have to defer till my next, what I have 
to say on the outward duties of this profession. 
Ponder, in the fear of God, what I have written; 
and oh ! consider what a blessed thing it is to be 
a Christian. 

Yours, 



LETTER Y. 



PUXCTUAL OBSERVAXCE OF GOSPEL IXSTITUTIOXS ; 
THE PRACTICE OF THE SOCIAL VIRTUES. 

(The Duties of the Christian Profession, Continued.) 

My Dear Feiexd : — 

In my last, I stated tliat tlie first and funda- 
mental duty of the Christian Profession is, to 
cherish those inward principles which make the 
true Christian to differ from all other men. 
And of these I took occasion to specify as of 
vital importance in Christian character, 1. The 
true and saving knowledge of God, and of his 
Son Jesus Christ. 2. A living and appropriat- 
ing faith of the Saviour. 3. Godly sorrow for, 
and hatred of sin. 4. Love to God and to the 
Saviour. 5. A spirit of universal benevolence. 



5-i THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

6. A spirit of identification witJi Christ. 7. A 
fixing of tlie lieart on heavenly things. With- 
out these, the Christian Profession would be like 
the^ hody without the spirit, dead. I now ask 
your attention: 

II. In the second place, to the outward duties 
of this profession. The things which I have 
named belong to the hidden man of the heart, 
and, although they show themselves by their 
fruits, are in themselves discernible only to the 
eye of the omniscient Searcher of the heart, and 
to our own consciousness ; but what remains to 
be named, lies open, more or less, to human ob- 
servation. 

1. Every professing Christian binds himself 
to the devout, regular and imnctual observance of 
all the institvMons of the Gospel. When a man 
joins the Church, he takes upon him the yoke of 
Christ, and engages to walk in his ordinances 
and commandments. In the great commission 
to his ministers, they are instructed to receive 
men into his Church on no other condition than 
that of implicit subjection to his will : " Go teach 
(or make disciples of) all nations; baptizing 



OBSERVANCE OF ORDINANCES. 55 



them, (that is, those who become disciples,) 
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever 
I command you.^^ When a professor of religion 
is known to neglect the daily reading of the 
Scriptures — or to be irregular in his attendance 
on the preached Gospel, and fruitful in excuses 
for absence — when he is noticed to be often 
absent from the house of God on sacramental 
occasions, or absent at all other times, and pres- 
ent only on such occasions — when he forsakes 
the prayer-meeting — when he is known to live 
without prayer in his family, or to be irregular, 
hurried and formal in the duty of family wor- 
ship — when there is reason to suspect that he 
and his closet are strangers — or when he is 
careless and irreverent on the Sabbath, or neg- 
ligent as to the Godly training of his children ; 
when a professor is known to be negligent in 
any of these duties, the world judges that he is 
not what he professes to be — his brethren lose 
confidence in him, and all agree that there is 
something radically wrong in that man. 

And so there is. These are all plain duties. 
The law of Christ prescribing them, speaks in 



56 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



terms too plain to he misunderstood. It is not 
a debatalDle matter, wliether these are duties or 
not : and the man Trho neglects any one of them 
willfullY, in that particular casts off the authority 
of Jesus Christ — in his heart renounces his 
allegiance to the Sa^-iour. And the very spirit 
Tvhich leads him to do so in one duty, would, if 
circumstances favored, lead him to do so in all 
duties. He that keeps the whole law. and yet 
offends in one point, is guilty of all : for the 
whole authority of God goes to sustain every 
single precept of his law. and when that pre- 
cept is disregarded, that authority is disre- 
garded. 

Great is the deceitfulness of the human heart. 
Men may bring themselves to doubt the plain- 
est duties, and at last to conceit that ii is no sin 
to neglect them. Thus, on the subjects of the 
sanctification of the Sabbath, of family worship, 
social worship, and secret prayer — - duties so 
much neglected by professing Christians — we 
have the clearest intimations of the Divine will. 

Remember the Silhatli^day to 'keep it lioly, is a 
law found in the rery center of the decalogue, 



SANCTIEICATION OF THE SABBATH. 57 



and never repealed, It is written too on the 
heart of every Christian, Prophecy foretold 
that the sons of the stranger that should join 
themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to 
love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, 
would, every one, keep the Sabbath from pollut- 
ing it, just as certainly as they would lay hold 
on God^s covenant. And experience verifies pro- 
phecy. Where is the spiritually-minded Chris- 
tian, that does not turn away his foot from the 
Sabbath, from doing his pleasure on God's holy 
day — that does not in his heart call the Sab- 
bath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable — 
and that does not on that day honor God — not 
doing his own ways, nor finding his own pleasure, 
nor speaking his own words — and if he should 
at any time be betrayed into worldly conversa- 
tion or conduct, is not grieved ? Ko man who 
labors to maintain a conscience void of offense 
toward God, will slight the Sabbath ; and rarely 
will you find a man doubting its obligations, till 
the restraints of the Sabbath and its influence 
on society become inconvenient to him. 

Though there m^ay not be an express com- 
5 



08 THE CHRISTIAX PROrESSION. 

inand. formally instituting family ivorshij?, vet 
it is clearly a christian duty. It commends 
itself to reason, that tlie family, being a cor- 
porate individual, so constituted by God — being 
dependent on him. and having its wants, inter- 
ests, mercies, sins, trials and afflictions as a 
body — should, in its corporate capacity, ottu its 
dependence on God. acknowledge his mercies, 
confess its sins, implore divine forgiveness, and 
ask divine succors and blessings. It also com- 
mends itself to reason, that the head of the 
family should lead in these acknowledgments 
and supplications, and that he should do it in 
such a manner as to lead the several members 
of the family to a sense of their own individual 
obligations, dependence, unworthiness and need : 
so as to cultivate in every member a spirit of 
piety and prayer. It is because it is a duty 
dictated by nature and reason, that the Scrip- 
tures are not more explicit. Yet they are by 
no means silent. TVe read of the patriarchs — 
Abraham. Isaac, and Jacob — that wherever 
they pitched their dwellings, they erected an 
altar to the Lord, and called on his name. It 



FAMILY WORSHIP. 



59 



was evidently the practice of Job ; Job i, 5. It 
is implied in tbe resolution of Joshua : As for 
me, and my bouse, we will serve tbe Lord/^ 
It is also implied in David^s conduct, wben, after 
the public services connected with bringing up 
the ark of God, he returned to bless his house ; 
and likewise in his resolution to walk within 
his house with a perfect heart/ ^ The devout 
Cornelius, even before he was instructed in the 
Gospel, feared God with all his house, and 
prayed to God always. He certainly would 
not abandon the duty after he was so instructed. 
And more than once is the solemn truth clearly 
intimated, that God will pour out his fury upon 
the families that call not on his name. The 
devout Christian will delight to assemble his 
family around the family altar in prayer, praise, 
and thanksgiving, and reading of the word of 
God ; he will feel, that it is a good thing to 
give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises 
unto the name of the Most High — to show forth 
his loving-kindness in the morning, and his 
faithfulness every night ; he will feel his heart 
going out to the exercise, and if, by any mis- 



60 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



chance, tlie duty be neglected, liis feelings will 
be tbose of self-condemnation and self-reproach. 

Xo less plainly obligatory is the dutv of 
Christians to meet togetber for social confereme, 
mutual exTioiiation and united prayer. We ai^e 
commanded not to forsake tbe assembling of 
ourselyes togetber, as tbe manner of some is, 
but to exbort one anotber, and so much tbe 
more as tbe day approacbes.'^ And we bave an 
example equivalent to a positive command — 
an example recorded witb e^ddence of God's 
bigb approbation — tbat tbose tbat feared 
tbe Lord spake often one to anotber, and tbe 
Lord bearkened and beard, and a book of remem- 
brance was kept for tbem tbat feared tbe Lord 
and tbougbt upon bis name : and tbey shall be 
mine, saith the Lord, in that day when I shall 
make up my jewels.'^ 5^o professing Christian 
tbat gives evidence of living and gTOwing piety, 
loves to forsake such assemblies. 

And in relation to secret prayer^ nothing can 
be more explicit than the command of the 
Saviour : But thou, when thou prayest, enter 
into thy closet, and when thou bast shut thy 



SOCIAL WORSHIP — SECRET PRAYER. 61 



door, pray nnto thy Father, who is in secret, 
and thy Father who seeth in secret shall reward 
thee openly. We cannot conceive of a man 
who adorns the Christian profession, pleading 
inconvenience, or anything else, as an excuse for 
not retiring to pray secretly to God, as a stated 
and regular exercise. 

So much for the observance of the institutions 
of the Gospel. Under this head I might en- 
large on other particulars, such as the daily 
reading and study of the Scriptures, self-exam- 
ination, the regular and punctual attendance on 
the preaching of the Gospel, and the regular 
and solemn observance of the Lord's Supper, in 
thankful and affectionate commemoration of the 
Saviour's death ; but these things are so plainly 
duties of the Christian Profession, are so ex- 
pressly and pointedly commanded, are so ob- 
viously essential in the very profession of Chris- 
tianity, as to cut off all need of argument 
or proof. No man can neglect these things, 
without sinning against the direct command of 
that Saviour whom every professing Christian 
solemnly engages to obey. 



62 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

2. But along with the observance of Gospel 
institutions, every professing Christian is bound 
to cultivate, with special care, the social virtues. 
By these, I mean those virtues, which obtain in 
the intercourse of man with man— the hones- 
ties, the charities, the decencies and civilities 
of life. These virtues are more or less held in 
universal esteem, especially in civilized and en- 
lightened society. I am not of those who assert 
that there is no virtue in the men of the world. 
Such an assertion would be false to fact. There 
are thousands of men who make no profession 
of religion, who yet scorn lying and slander; 
detest meanness and dishonesty ; abhor drunk- 
enness and profaneness — thousands such, who 
are true to their word, just, and honest, and 
liberal in their dealings ; pure in their inter- 
course with society, and dignified, noble, tender, 
affectionate, and obliging in the various rela- 
tions and walks of life. All this they owe, in a 
great measure at least, to the moralizing and 
elevating influence of the Gospel on society ; an 
influence which the Gospel exerts on many a 
man who nevertheless rejects the Saviour it 



OUTWARD DUTIES — THE SOCIAL VIETUES. 63 



reveals ; an influence, liowever, of sucli import- 
ance and power, tliat, without it, tliev might 
have been as blood-thirsty, as unfeeling, as pol- 
luted and base, as the most degraded barbari- 
ans, or savages. 

But if the Gospel has produced this effect on 
those who are only under its general influence, 
how much more should it produce it on those 
who are, professedly, at least, under its special, 
sanctifying, influence ? A dishonest professor 
of religion — one who will defraud and take the 
advantage in a bargain, or who will resort to 
low and petty artifice to make, or save a penny; 
a professor of the religion of the Lord Jesus 
Christ that will lie or conceal the truth for 
gain, or for the purpose of excusing or justify- 
ing himself when overtaken in a fault ; a pro- 
fessor of religion, that will slander, backbite, or 
defame his neighbor; a professor that will 
descend to low ribaldry or obscenity, or foolish 
talking and jesting ; or one that will sip the 
drunkard^s glass ; or one that will oj^press 
the poor, or shut up his bowels of compassion 
against a fellow suffering man ; a stingy, nig- 



64 THE CHRISTIAX PROEESSION. 

gardly, closefisted professor — one that is desti- 
tute of public spirit, and always lags in those 
enterprises which have for their object the me- 
lioration of the condition of mankind, the im- 
provement of society, or the benefit of the 
commonwealth; the professor that is morose, 
unsocial, uncourteous, disobliging, churlish; the 
professor that is slothful in his business, and 
prodigal in his habits — all such are just so far 
breaking their Lord's commands, and dishonor- 
oring the vocation vvherewith they are called. 
They are defective in virtues of the very first 
moment to society — virtues of which society has 
a high esteem, and of which no man can be des- 
titute, and be respectable, or influential. 

The practice of these virtues on the part of 
the Christian, is especially necessary in order to 
recommend religion before men of the world : 
because these are virtues which the latter most 
esteem ; and that religion which does not pro- 
duce them in its professed subjects can not fail 
to be undervalued and despised. The Christian 
should then abound — he should stand pre-emi- 
nent — in these virtues. Thev are the *^ 0:ood 



OUTWARD DUTIES — THE SOCIAL VIRTUES. 65 



works," by which we are to silence gainsayers, 
and by which we may hope to lead obseryers to 
glorify our Father who is in heayen. He that 
in these things seryeth Christ, is acceptable 
to God and approyed of men.'^ It is to these vir- 
tues that the Apostle exhorts Christians, when he 
says, ''Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are 
true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever 
things are just, whatsoeyer things are pure, 
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things 
are of good report ; if there be any virtue and 
if there be any praise, think on these things." 

The religion of Christ urges on us even the 
courtesies and civilities of life. It does not pro- 
fess to make us conformable to all the etiquette 
and formalities of refined and fashionable life, 
many of which are hollow and silly in the ex- 
treme ; and the Christian should be plain, sim- 
ple, and unaffected in his manners; but the 
Christian must not be boorish nor rude, but 
"courteous" — from real goodness of heart, he 
must show himself kind, social, obliging, accom- 
modating, affable, respectful. — 1 Pet. iii, 8. 

But there is one important point, in which 



66 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



tlie Christian's practice of these things must 
difier from that of worldly men — he must prac- 
tice them from a sense of duty, from love to 
God and to men, and not from selfish princi- 
ples. Whatever ye do in word or in deed, do 
all in the name of the Lord Jesus/' It is this 
principle which renders all the virtues of the 
Christian acceptahle to God — and it is the want 
of this principle, which renders all the virtues 
of the man of the world condemnable before 
him. With the searching eye of his omniscience, 
he looks through the fair exterior into the 
heart, and disgusted with the condition of things 
there, exclaims, I know you that the love of 
God is not in you.'' 

The professor of the religion of Christ should 
study to excel the virtue of the most finished 
morality — especially in the duties of justice and 
mercy. The Gospel, in the scheme of man's 
salvation, makes the brightest display of justice 
and benevolence ; and it proposes the example 
of God herein, as the great pattern of Christian 
virtue. " Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your 
Father in heaven is perfect." " Be ye holy, for 



OUTWARD DUTIES — THE SOCIAL VIRTUES. 67 

the Lord your God is holj/^ The Christian 
should not only avoid, but show that he abhors 
that which is evil. He should not only do, but 
he should cleave to that which is good. He 
should avoid all appearance of evil. His actions 
should be such as to show that he loathes all 
wrong-doing— that iniquity is the abominable 
thing which he hates — that he despises what is 
vile — that he belongs to a peculiar people, who 
are zealous of good works. 

Especially should the Christian excel in the 
duties of benevolence. The Grospel is above all 
things a religion of benevolence. Taking its 
origin in the wondrous benevolence of God, its 
grand design is to produce benevolence in men. 
Its language is, Be ye imitators of God, as 
dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also 
hath loved us, and given himself an offering 
and a sacrifice unto God for a sweet-smell- 
ing savor. Hereby perceive we the love of God, 
because he laid down his life for us ; and we 
ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 
Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
that though he w^as rich, yet for your sakes he 



68 THE CHRISTIAX PROFESSION. 

became poor, that we throiigli his poYerty might 
be made rich. Let the same mincl be in you 
which was also in Christ Jesus. We have known 
and believed the love that G-od hath to us. God 
is love ; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth 
in God, and God in him. Love your enemies ; 
bless them that curse you; do good to them 
that hate you, and pray for them that despite- 
fully use you and persecute you, that ye may be 
the children of your Father which is in heaven ; 
for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and 
on th'e good, and sendeth rain on the just and 
on the unjust.^^ Such a religion as this relaxes 
the rigid selfishness of the human heart ; and 
warms, and softens, and enlarges it with the 
tenderest sympathies of kindness, pity, and 
good-will. It makes the Christian feel not only 
for a suffering brother in the Gospel, but for a 
suffering brother in the great family of man. 
The Christian professor that can oppress his 
fellow-man, that can turn aside the stranger 
from his rights ; that can turn a deaf ear to the 
cause of the fatherless and widow, or to the cry 
of the poor; that can draw his purse-strings 



OUTWARD DUTIES — BENEVOLENCE. 



69 



close, because the sufierer does not belong to bis 
sect or to bis Cburcb; tbat can adopt tbe 
maxim, Let tbe Devil take care of bis own 
poor,'^ or wbo can look with apatby on tbe 
wants and tbe woes of tbose wbo are perisbing 
tbrougb want of tbe bread of life, sbows tbat 
be is a stranger to tbat Gospel wbicb be pro- 
fesses — a stranger to its spirit, as well as a 
rebel to its injunctions. Cbrist died for tbe 
ungodly, be came into tbe world to save sinners; 
and tbe man wbo bas drunk into bis spirit, will 
learn to do good unto all men. 

My dear friend, tbe professing Cbristian can 
not attacb too mucb importance to tbe social 
virtues. If by neglecting tbe duties of religion, 
be virtually disowns allegiance to Cbrist, be 
equally belies bis profession and brings special 
dishonor on tbe Saviour, if be fails in tbe culti- 
vation and practice of tbese virtues. Here, as 
in everytbing else, be should be blameless and 
harmless, a child of God without rebuke, in tbe 
midst of a perverse and crooked generation, and 
shining as a light in the world. It is by tbese 
virtues especially, tbat be will, in tbe eye.- of 



70 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



the world, adorn tlie doctrine of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Clirist, and recommend it to their 
favorable regards. 

Let me close this long letter in the words of 
the apostle Peter: Dearly beloved, I beseech 
you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from 
fleshly lusts, which war against the soul : hav- 
ing your conversation honest among the gen- 
tiles, that whereas they speak against you as 
evil-doers, they may by your good works, which 
they shall behold, glorify &od in the day of 
visitation.'' 

Tours. 



LETTER VI. 



THE PASSIVE VIRTUES. 

[ The Duties of the Christian Profession, Continued. ] 

My Deae Fhiexd : — 

In my last, I endeavored to turn your atten- 
tion to some of the outward duties of the Christ- 
ian Profession. In the course of my remarks, 
two classes of these were brought briefly under 
review: 1. The devout, regular and punctual 
observance of all the institutions of the Gospel ; 
and, 2. The pre-eminent culture of the social 
virtues. I shall next notice : 

3. As my third particular under this head, 
the duty of the professed Christian to cultivate, 
and exhibit, a Qhristian dispodtim. Here it 
becomes him to mortify and subdue certain tem- 



72 



THE CHRISTIAN PKOFESSION. 



pers and dispositions, wliicli are not only not 
disgraceful, but reputable and admired in the 
Tvorld : and to cultivate the contrary tempers 
and dispositions — tempers and dispositions, 
wbicb are peculiar to tbe Gospel, and either 
underrated, or despised in the world. The 
Christian tem2>ers to which I refer, are humil- 
ity, meekness, self-denial, forbearance, forgive- 
ness. These make up that character which the 
world counts, and affects to despise as mean- 
spirited, tame, and abject — the very reverse of 
what it admires as high-minded, fall of spii'it, 
jealous of honor, quick in resentment. But, 
while the Christian should cultivate true nobility 
of soul, and of all men be the farthest removed 
from what is really mean or abject, it yet be- 
hooves him to think lowly of himself — to l>e 
clothed with humility — and, in lowliness of 
mind, to esteem others better than himself. It 
behooves him to be meek, yielding and comply- 
ing ; to be silent and gentle under rudeness and 
insult ; to forgive and suffer, rather than retali- 
ate or revenge ; to sue for reconciliation, instead 
of demanding satisfaction : to bear and forbear 



THE PASSn^E VIRTUES, 



73 



with the insolence, the prejudices, and passions 
of those Trith whom he has to deal ; often to 
deny himself for the sake of ]3eace — always 
those feeling;s of resentment which wounded and 
excited nature prompts — and, not unfrequentlv, 
even his rights which he might lawfully claim. 
This was the character which Jesus maintained, 
and in which he left us an exam23le. He was 
meek and lowly in heart ; when he was reviled 
he reviled not again : and when he suffered, he 
threatened not. He forgave his enemies, and 
prayed that Heaven might forgive them. 

When he began his public ministry, this was 
the character which he commended and blessed : 
'•Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the 
kingdom of God : blessed are they that mourn, 
for they shall be comforted : blessed are the 
meek, for they shall inherit the earth : blessed 
are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy; 
blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be 
called the children of God.'' And afterward he 
prescribed the terms on which alone a man could 
be his disciple: "If any man will come after 
6 



74 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross 
and follow me.'^ 

These are virtues, in the cultivation of which 
chiefly, Christians would, in the judgment of the 
Apostles, walk worthy of the vocation wherewith 
they are called. For example, the Apostle Paul 
writing to the Christians of Ephesus, after ex- 
horting them to walk worthy of their Christian 
vocation, adds immediately, by way of telling 
them how to do so, these words : " With all low- 
liness and meekness ; ivith long-suffering, forbear- 
ing one another in love,^^ And, again, shortly 
after, in the same chapter: ''Be ye angry, and 
sin not ; let not the sun go down upon your 
wrath. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, 
and clamor, and evil-speaking, be put away from 
you, with all malice. And be ye kind to one 
another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, 
even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven 
you.'' In another epistle, he shows what im- 
portance he attaches to these passive virtues, by 
writing in the following strain : " Put on, there- 
fore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, 



THE PASSIVE VIRTUES. 



75 



bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, 
meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, 
and forgiving one another, if any man have a 
quarrel against any ; even as Christ forgave you, 
so also do ye. And above all these things, put 
on charity which is the bond of perfectness, and 
let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the 
which also ye are called in one body.'^ 

Not only in the world without, but also in the 
Church of God, in consequence of the imperfec- 
tions, the infirmities, and the selfishness of 
brethren, will the professing Christian find 
much to annoy and excite. But let him study, 
and at all times set before him, the example of 
his meek and lowly Master, and strive to grow 
into his very temper and spirit. Thus even the 
proud world will take knowledge of him, that 
he has been with Jesus ; and Zion shall be a 
peaceful habitation ; Jerusalem a vision of peace, 
and there the Lord will command his blessing, 
even life forevermore. Unspeakable is the 
moral influence of a meek and quiet spirit ; and 
incalculable would be the moral power of the 
Church, if such a spirit pervaded all her mem- 



76 THE CHRISTLiN PROFESSION. 

bers. But if professors of religion are destitute 
of sucli a spirit ; if on tlie contrary, tliej are 
governed by worldly principles in those matters 
wbicb are calculated to annoy, or to rouse resent- 
ment, or excite passion ; if they are haughty, 
high-spirited, easily provoked, scornful, impla- 
cable, spiteful, unforgiving, unyielding, slow to 
reconciliation, the world, looking on, will draw 
one of two conclusions — either that such persons 
are strangers to the religion of their Master, or 
that that religion is a farce. Strange as it may 
appear, it is nevertheless true, that while worldly 
men cherish and admire what is sometimes called 
pride of honor, with its accompanying resent- 
ments, they yet condemn this spirit in the 
Church ; and any exhibition of it in professed 
Christians, tends to lower Christianitv in their 
esteem. Too often, also, when evil passions are 
stirred in the Church, they are characterized by 
a violence and asperity which the moral sense 
of the world would condemn, even in worldly 
men. 

In taking upon us the yoke of Christ, we 
should feel that it is one part, and a very prom- 



THE PASSIVE VIRTUES. 



77 



inent part of our profession, to put a guard upon 
our own spirit — that we are, by our profession, 
followers, and therefore should be imitators, of 
Him, who was meek and lowly in heart. 

Yours, 



LETTEE YII. 



STUDYING THE PROSPERITY OF THE CHURCH. 

[ The Duties of the Christian Profession, Concluded. ] 
My Deae Feiexd: — 

The next, and tlie last duty of tlie Christian 
Profession to ydiicli I sliall direct your atten- 
tion, is tliat of studying tlie ivelfare of tlie Clirist- 
ian commomvecdtli. Every member of tlie Church 
will do so, who is a loyal subject in the Eedeem- 
er's kingdom. The purity, the peace, and the 
prosperity of the Church, are objects which 
should be near and dear to the heart of every 
member. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem ; 
they shall prosper that love thee/' is the exhor- 
tation of the inspired Psalmist, to which the 
heart of every loyal citizen of Jerusalem will 



DEVOTEDNESS TO TEE CHURCH. 



79 



respond : Peace be Trithin thj walls, and pros- 
perity within th}' palaces I For my brethren 
and companions' sake, I will now say. Peace be 
within thee I Because of the house of the Lord 
our God, I will seek thy good/' 

This object is greatly promoted by the per- 
formance of the duties, and the practice of the 
virtues specified in my previous Letters. That 
Christian, who instinct with the principles, and 
moved by the promptings of a living faith in 
Christ, observes the institutions of the Gospel, 
is adorned with the social virtues, and cherishes 
a meek and quiet spirit, is the man, who most, 
according to his condition and relations in so- 
ciety, promotes the good of Zion. If we would 
build up the true interest of the Church, we 
must ourselves be living, exemplary, Christians. 
That man can be of little use to the cause of 
Christ, who does not himself deny ungodliness 
and worldly lusts, and live soberly, and right- 
eously, and godly, in this present world. 

But there are some things of special import- 
ance, under this head, which deserve to be par- 
ticularly noticed : 



80 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



First. The exercise of brotherly love and a 
spirit of peace. The Apostle says: '-Let us. 
therefore, follow after those things which make 
for peace, and things whereby one may edify 
another.'' "Without unity of spirit — unity of 
sentiment, feeling and object — in its members, 
the Church can not prosper. Every body must 
have its proper spirit, or that body will die — and 
with that spirit every member should be instinct, 
if the body is to have a healthy existence, and a 
vigorous gTOwth. The common spirit of the 
body must so take possession of all the mem- 
bers, that all selfish feelings shall be effectually 
checked and controlled, and all individual 
interests merged in devotion to the common 
good. Tender and endearing bonds bind Christ- 
ians in one : and their religion, in its very spirit 
and nature, imposes on them the duties of broth- 
erly kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffer- 
ing, forbearance, and preferring one another in 
love : and without these, the unity and spirit of 
the body can not be preserved. Hence the lan- 
guage of the Apostle : *• With all lowliness and 
meekness, with long-suffering, forbearino" one 



BROTHERLY LOVE AND PEACE. 



81 



another in love ; endeavoring to keep the unity 
of the Spirit in the bond of peace.'' 

They who, in their Christian profession, dwell 
not together in unity, and peace, and active 
brotherly love, walk not as becomes the Gospel — 
walk not worthy of their vocation — and expose 
themselves to the withdrawal of God's Spirit, 
and religion to the triumphs of infidelity. They 
profess to be one body and one spirit, and to be 
called in one hope of their calling ; to have one 
Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father 
of all, who is above all and through all, and in 
them all. Then should they be of one heart 
and one soul ; and stand fast in one spirit, with 
one mind, striving together for the faith of the 
Gospel. And how is this to be done? Not by 
cherishing ambition, pride, and self-conceit— not 
by cold, distant, unbrotherly, unneighborly con- 
duct — not by shyness— not by readily taking 
offense and indulging evil-surmisings — not by 
cherishing bad feelings and shunning explana- 
tion, till reconciliation becomes impossible — not 
by stubborn refusal to make concession, and 
stern, resentful demands for &atisfaction ; but* 
7 - 



82 THE CHKISTIAN PROEESSION. 

by lowliness of mind, keeping down everything 
like vain-glory, provocation, and envy — by bear- 
ing with the infirmities of the weak — by candid 
and prompt confession of our faults to one 
another — by a friendly, tender, courteous and 
conciliating deportment — by free and familiar 
intercourse — ^by candid and timely, unreserved 
and friendly explanation. Such as these are the 
measures by which the members of the Church 
should endeavor to prevent any root of bitter- 
ness from springing up to trouble and defile 
them ; and labor to preserve the unity of the 
Spirit in the bond of peace. 

Second. It is essential to the prosperity and 
vigorous efficiency of the Church, that her doc- 
trines and principles be explicitly avowed, and 
firmly maintained. To this end they should be 
understood by all her members, and they should 
hold themselves ready, on all proper occasions, 
to declare and defend them. If it is their duty 
to stand fast in one mind and with one spirit, it 
is in striving for the faith of the Gospel. We 
are to contend earnestly for the faith once deliv- 
ered to the saints. The Gospel is the wisdom 



A DECIDED DOCTRINAL TESTIMONY. 



83 



of God, and tlie power of God, unto salvation. 
It is by the trntli as it is in Jesus, that the 
Church as a whole, and her members individu- 
ally, are to grow up unto a perfect man ; and it 
is by this truth, that she is to obtain the con- 
quest of the world. Every member of the 
Church should both have his own heart estab- 
lished with the doctrines of grace, and be pre- 
pared, as occasions serve, to teach them to others. 
Too many professors of religion content them- 
selves vvith low attainments in Christian knowl- 
edge ; are culpably indifferent as to whether their 
faith stands in the wisdom of men or in the 
power of God ; and give themselves little trouble 
to discriminate between truth and error. They 
are too willing to be children, tossed to and fro, 
and carried about with every wind of doctrine, 
by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness, 
wdiereby they lie in wait to deceive. No church 
can prosper, made up of such members. 

Third. Free religious conversation, is a happy 
means of promoting mutual confidence and love 
in brethren; and thereby, the life and power 
of religion in the Church. Christians should 



84 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

not only let tlie word of Christ dwell in them 
richly, in all wisdom, bnt they should teach and 
admonish one another ; they should talk together 
of the things of Grod, and should speak often one 
to another. They are associated in one body, 
that they may have a mutual sympathy ; and 
are appointed to exercise over one another an 
affectionate watch and care. Hence such injunc- 
tions as the following: Take heed lest there 
"be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in 
departing from the living God ; but exhort one 
another daily, while it is called, to-day, lest any 
of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of 
sin; looking diligently lest any man fail of 
the grace of God ; lest any root of bitterness, " 
springing up, trouble you, and thereby many be 
defiled.^' 

One sad mark of a low state of religion, is the 
worldly conversation of its professors, and their 
shyness to interchange views and feelings on 
practical and experimental religion. Out of 
the abundance of the heart, the mouth speak- 
eth.^^ If our hearts were in heaven, our conver- 
sation would be there. If we duly appreciated 



MEETINGS EOR CONEERENCE AND PRAYER. 85 



and felt what God has done for us, we would be 
saying with David, " Come and hear, all ye that 
fear God, and I will declare what he hath done 
for my soul/^ 

What are sometimes called Class-meetings'^ 
and " Experience-meetings,'^ have sometimes 
been conducted in such a manner as to foster 
vanity, ignorance, self-righteousness, and strife, 
rather than godly edifying. The workings of a 
deceitful heart and the reveries of an unin- 
formed mind, and the fancies of a heated imagi- 
nation, have been substituted for the sure 
word of prophecy,'' and its plain, practical, and 
experimental teachings. But such things are 
only an abuse of an institution, which, if pro- 
perly conducted, is admirably adapted to promote 
the edification of the Church. Well-conducted 
meetings for conference and prayer, in the dif- 
ferent districts of congregations, would have a 
happy effect in exciting a spirit of inquiry, 
knowledge and piety, among the people of God. 
Such meetings have been kept up from of old, 
and Heaven has regarded them with special 
interest and favor. In the times of Malachi — a 



86 



THE CHRISTIAN PEOFESSIOX. 



day, like tliis. of rebiilve and "blaspliemv. of Trick- 
edness and infidelity — they that feared the Lord 
spoke often one to another : and the Lord heark- 
ened and heard it : and a hook of remembrance 
Tvas written before him, for them that feared 
the Lord and thongkt npon his name. Let 
Christians think of the day to which organized 
infidelity, multiform error, and an overspreading 
worldliness are hastening the Church, and let 
them hearken to the Apostle: ''Forsake not 
the assembling of yourselves together, as the 
manner of some is ; but exhort one another, and 
so much the more as ye see the day approaching.^^ 
Fourtli, Itvould contribute much to the pros- 
perity of the Church, if her members would 
assiduously, yet wisely, exert their influence to 
bring those who are without to appreciate and 
improve the privileges of a preached Gospel and 
other means of grace. Every Christian, if he is 
what he ought to be« has influence, which may 
be turned to good. It matters not what his cir- 
cumstances are, if he be honest, upright, benev- 
olent, liberal and courteous, he can not fail to 
have influence, and decided influence. This he 



EFFORTS TO CONVERT SINNERS. 



87 



should exert for tlie benefit of the souls of his 
neighbors, and the prosperity of Zion. '^'No 
man liveth to himself.'^ The Christian has 
higher interests than those of time. Nay, he is 
placed in the Church, not only that his own soul 
may be saved, but that he may serve his gener- 
ation in building up the Kedeemer's kingdom. 
The heart that is duly affected with Christ^s 
salvation, will burn with desire to bring others 
to enjoy it. Thus it was with Andrew and 
Philip, and the woman of Samaria — John i, 40- 
46, and John iv, 28, 29, 39 and 40— and their 
success encourages exertion. Christians should 
never forget that they are the light of the 
world, and " the salt of the eartli.'^ They should 
feel their obligation to show, by word and deed, 
to their friends, what great things the Lord hath 
done for them. Their looks, their speech, their 
conduct, should be such as to say, to their neigh- 
bors, " We are journeying to the place of which 
the Lord hath said, I will give it you ; come thou 
with us and we will do thee good; for the Lord hath 
spoken good concerning Israel. They should 
walk in wisdom toward them that are without. 



88 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

endeavoring to win them to Christ ; striving to 
this end, to bring them to the house of God, to 
attend the prayer-meeting, to read the Bible, to 
sanctify the Sabbath, to read useful works, to 
send their children to the Sabbath school and 
Bible-class, to take religious periodicals, and to 
cultivate an acquaintance with the movements 
of the Church. If the labors of a Christian 
should result in the conversion of but one indi- 
vidual; yet, what an achievement! Brethren, 
if any of you do err from the truth, and one con- 
vert him ; let him know that he who converteth 
a sinner from the error of his way, shall save a 
soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of 
sins." 

Fifth. The prosperity of the Christian com- 
monwealth is particularly promoted by properly 
training its children. The hope of every com- 
munity is its youth. If they are not trained, 
the community can not prosper, nor endure. It 
would be a wretched policy for any common- 
wealth, to leave its children to grow up a race 
of outlaws, and depend for its future support and 
administration on foreigners. God says to the 



RELIGIOUS TRAINING OF CHILDREN. 89 



Church, Instead of thy fathers shall be thy 
children, whom thou mayest make princes in all 
the earth and he commands the heads of fam- 
ilies to bring up their children in his nurture and 
admonition. They should be trained not only 
in religious, but, as far as circumstances will 
permit, in all useful knowledge. This will give 
them the greater influence. The children of the 
Church should be fitted by education to occupy 
commanding positions in society, and to be men 
of controlling influence in whatever departments 
of life they may be called to act. 

There are reasons why Christians, instead of 
neglecting, should be specially careful in the 
education of their daughters. Female influence 
stands in special connection with the interests 
of religion. Who knows not the power of a 
mother's influence, or a sister's, or even that 
of a female friend? and were that influence 
directed, in all cases, by intelligence and piety, 
how powerfully would it tell on the formation 
of character, to virtue and religion ? The Bible 
regards woman as the corner-stone of the social 
fabric, and directs that this corner-stone be 



90 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



polislied : Our daughters, like unto corner- 
stones, polished after the similitude of a palace/' 

God recognizes the children of Christians as 
memhers of the Church along with their parents, 
and has given many precious promises of suc- 
cess to attend the efforts which parents should 
use to train them up for piety and usefulness. 
And to whose salvation should Christians be so 
tenderly devoted, as to that of their children ? 
The professing Christian who neglects the edu- 
cation, and especially the religious education of 
his children, is an unnatural parent, and a dis- 
loyal citizen in the commonwealth of Israel. 

Sixth. Christian professors should expend lib- 
erally of their worldly substance for the enlarge- 
ment and prosperity of the Church. Not that 
she may shine in the splendor and decorations 
of worldly wealth ; but that her pure and holy 
principles — her truth and her righteousness — 
may be universally extended. Too much of the 
Christian benevolence of the day is the contribu- 
tion of "the pride of life,'' and therefore misap- 
plied. If the superfluity of what is given for 
building and decorating splendid churches, was 



LIBERALITY IN THE USE OF MONEY. 



91 



devoted to the education of youtli — to bringing 
forward and supporting missionaries, and to the 
circulation of the Holy Scriptures, immensely 
more would be done for the prosperity of Zion. 

It becomes the professing Christian to set 
Jerusalem above his chief joy — -to seek her good 
always, and to devise liberal things in her be- 
half. He should consider the promise of God 
in her favor, strive to have his heart affected 
with her wants, and ponder seriously and earn- 
estly how he can most promote her interests. 
He should consider, that, with respect to what 
he calls his property, he is only a steward of 
God, bound to make that use of what he is in- 
trusted with, which will do the most good ; and 
that this is not done by expending it, or the 
greater part of it, on the lust of the flesh, the 
lust of the eye, and the pride of life, or hoarding 
it up as an unsanctified legacy for posterity. 
Better dedicate, with liberal and cheerful heart, 
the first-fruits to God, and then the residue will 
descend to posterity with God^s blessing. 

If the Christian believes what he professes, 
that the kingdom of God is supreme in its 



^2 



THE CHRISIIAN PROFESSION. 



importance, then "^ill lie seek first tliat king- 
dom and Its rigliieousness. and trust God for 
a ec-mpetent portion of tke good things of this 
life. God ^11 never forsake the righteous, nor 
suffer his seed to l3eg their bread. God loves a 
cheerful giver, and ttlLI show his love by his 
proA'idential care: "A good man showeth favor 
and lendeth. Surely he shall not be moved 
forever : the righteous shall be in everlasting 
remembrance."' " Honor the Lord with thy 
substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine 
increase : so shall thy barns be filled with 
plenty, and thy presses shall burst forth with 
new wine.*' And what is more, "thy soul shall 
be made fat:*' — "the Lord shall bless thee 
out of Zion. and thou shalt see the good of 
Jerusalem all the days of thy life.*' 

Finally : it is the duty of every member of 
the ChuiX'h to pray for its enlargement, holi- 
ness, peace, and prosperity. Zion's Eang has 
decreed, that his subjects shall pray for the 
welfare of his kingdom : and he has promised 
to hear their prayers. Prayer shall be made 
for Him continually." Pray for the peace of 



PRAYER FOR ZION'S PROSPERITY. 



93 



Jerusalem.'^ With hearts devoted to his glory, 
and filled Tvith sweet meditation on his promises 
in behalf of his Church, and encouraged by 
the signs of the times, they should pray, with 
unceasing importunity, Thy kingdom come. 
This, which is the duty of all Zion^s citizens, is 
particularly the duty of her public officers; ^'I 
have set watchmen upon thy walls, 0 Jerusalem, 
which shall never hold their peace, day nor 
night. Ye that make mention of the Lord, 
keep not silence ; and give him no rest, till he 
establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise 
in the earth. But while it is their duty 
specially, yet it is an important duty of every 
member of the Church, and one upon the due 
performance of which, very much depends the 
prosperity of the Church. How earnestly, ac- 
cordingly, does the Apostle, in almost all his 
epistles, entreat the prayers of his Christian 
brethren. Brethren, pray for us, that the 
word of the Lord may have free course, and be 
glorified ; withal praying for us, that God 
would open unto us a door of utterance, to 
speak the mystery of Christ ; that I may make 



94 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



it manifest, as I ought to speak/^ A praying 
peo|)le will make a j^reaeking minister ; and 
where the members of tke Ckurck are prayer- 
less, Zion cannot be expected to prosper. 

Then, dear friend, let your resolution, and 
may that of every member of tke Ckurck, be : 

For Zion^s sake I will not kold my peace, and 
for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until tke 
rio^kteousness tkereof 0:0 fortk as brioktness, 
and tke salvation tkereof as a lamp tkat burn- 
etk.^' 

Yours, 



LETTEE VIII. 



THE NECESSITY OF THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

My Dear Friend : — 

Having taken a view of the nature and duties, 
permit me now to call your attention to the 
NECESSITY of the Christian Profession. 

In the eighth chapter of the Gospel according 
to Luke, we have the following narrative, which 
was deemed to be of sufficient importance to be 
recorded by two other evangelists : — And a 
woman having an issue of blood twelve years, 
which had spent all her living upon physicians, 
neither could be healed of any, came behind 
him, and touched the border of his garment, 
and immediately her issue of blood stanched. 
And Jesus said, Who touched me ? When all 



96 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

denied, Peter and tliey that were witli liim said. 
Master, tile multitude throng thee and press 
thee; and sayest thou, Who touched me? And 
Jesus said, somebody hath touched me ; for I 
perceive that virtue is 'gone out of me. And 
when the woman saw that she was not hid, she 
came trembling, and falling down before him, 
she declared unto him, hefore all the people^ for 
what cause she had touched him, and how she 
was healed immediately. And he said unto 
her, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith 
had made thee whole ; go in peace. 

What treatment was this for the tender and 
compassionate Jesus, who always sympathized 
with the afflicted, and was a model of delicacy 
— the last who would needlessly wound the 
sensibilities of any human being ; — what treat- 
ment was this for him toward a poor and 
afflicted woman! Yes, it was a woman- — a 
delicate female — and one that was afflicted, 
and had been so for a long time : a modest and 
retiring female, instinctively shrinking from 
observation, and one whose disease was such as 
female delicacy would induce her to conceal! 



ITS NECESSITY — AN INCIDENT. 



97 



Her faith was strong : she helieved, that if she 
could but touch the hem of his garment, she 
would be whole ; and, under this persuasion, 
she, unnoticed by the crowd, stole up among 
them as they thronged and pressed him, and 
touched — in faith and love touched — her 
Saviour's garment, and was cured. The omni- 
scient eye of Jesus saw her — saw what had 
passed in her mind, what she had done, and the 
benefit she had received. He knew her afflic- 
tion, her modesty, her timidity, and back- 
wardness, and particularly her delicacy on the 
subject of her disorder and cure. Surely he 
will spare the feelings of this shrinking one, 
and let her bear away the happy cure unob- 
served. The bruised reed he will not break, 
and the smoking flax he will not quench ; and 
certainly he will not wound the sensibilities of 
amiable modesty ! — No ! He sternly demands 
that she make her appearance, and confess pub- 
licly the whole affair ; and so sternly did he 
insist on this demand, that she, feeling that she 
was under his penetrating and all-seeing eye, 
came trembling, and, falling down before him, 
8 



98 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

declared unto him, before all the people, for 
what cause she had touched him, and how she 
was healed immediately. 

Now, why was the Saviour so stern and 
unyielding? It certainly was not to display 
his miraculous power; for how often did he 
command those who were healed by him to tell 
no man ? No ! He would teach us the neces- 
sity of an open, public profession of religion : — 
that no one should derive saving virtue from 
him, and pass along unknown, undistinguished, 
in this world's crowd ; but that every such one 
should come forward, in the face of all difficul- 
ties and all discouragements, and in despite of 
all delicacy and all reluctance, and confess 
publicly, before the world, for what purpose he 
had applied to the Saviour, and how imme- 
diately he was made Avhole. And the record of 
this transaction is given, to teach us that the 
Lord Jesus Christ sternly demands this, and 
will be satisfied with nothing less. 

And this is a prominent idea throughout the 
New Testament. " If thou shalt confess with 
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in 



ITS NECESSITY — DIRECT PROOF 



99 



thy heart that God hath raised him from the 
dead, thou shalt be saved : For with the heart 
man believeth unto righteousness, and with the 
mouth confession is made unto salvation/^ 
Whosoever, therefore, shall he ashamed of 
me and of my words, in this adulterous and 
sinful generation ; of him also shall the Son of 
man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory 
of his Father, with the holy angels.'^ " Who- 
soever shall confess me before men, him will I 
confess before my Father which is in heaven: 
Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will 
I also deny before my Father which is in 
heaven.'' Nothing can be plainer than these 
declarations. In order to be saved, you must 
confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth, as well 
as believe on him with your heart. If it is a 
law of his kingdom that with the heart man 
believeth unto righteousness, it is equally a law 
of his kingdom that with the mouth confession 
is made unto salvation. If you are ashamed of 
him, he will be ashamed of you. If you con- 
fess him, he will confess you ; and if you do not 
confess him, he will not confess you. Your 



100 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



salvation is just as truly suspended on your 
confessing him, as it is on your believing in 
him. You might as well deny the necessity of 
faith, as deny the necessity of confessing him. 
You might as well flatter yourself with the 
hope of safety in refusing to believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, as to cherish the hope of 
safety in refusing to confess him. The refusal, 
in either case, is perdition; — it is to make 
yourself sure of being disowned by the Lord 
Jesus Christ in that awful day when he shall sit 
as Judge of the world. 

Set it down then, my Friend, as a funda- 
mental truth, that, by the law of Christ, a 
profession of faith is as truly necessary to 
salvation, as is faith itself. As this is a truth, 
which, though so plainly taught, many who 
claim to be friends and respecters of religion do 
not believe — at least, do not realize — I will 
endeavor to illustrate and enforce it by several 
considerations. 

However, before doing this, there are two 
things which I will promise, for the purpose of 
preventing mistake, and also in order to remove 



MISTAKES TO BE AVOIDED. 101 

a confusion of ideas ^vliicli paralyzes the force 
of the above truth in a groat many minds. 

And, first : — I do not say that it is absolutely 
impossible for a man to be saved without a 
profession of religion. An infant, an idiot, may 
be saved without faith. In such cases, faith is 
impracticable. And so there may be cases in 
which, though a man is effectually called, and 
believes, and repents, yet a profession of religion 
is impracticable. He may be arrested by death 
before he have the opportunity ; he may be con- 
verted in a place where there is no Church, and it 
may be out of his power to place himself where 
the Church of God is ; he may have conscien- 
tious difficulties, deterring him by a sense of 
unworthiness, which possibly may not be re- 
moved till he be called to the other world. 
In such cases, however, it is implied that the 
man has the will and desire to profess Christ, 
and is earnest in the use of means to remove 
his difficulties, and that the unperformed duty 
of confessing Christ, instead of being a matter 
of indifference, or a thing about which he 
makes himself easy, or in which he excuses 



1U2 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSIOX. 



himself, is a habitual concern and burden upon 
his soul. 

Second : — Xot all professors of religion shall 
be saved. Xo I there are hypocrites and self- 
deceivers in the Church. The profession of 
which I treat, is the result of faith in the heart: 
and, consequently, sustained by the periorni- 
ance of the duties of the Christian profession. 
The profession, the necessity of which is here 
urged, is not merely the joining of the Church 
and receivino; the sacraments, thouo;h these are 
prominent duties in it : but, in addition, it is a 
walking worthy of such a standing and of such 
privileges. It is possible for a man to confess 
Christ in words, by avowing a certain creed, 
joining a religious society, and receiving the 
sacraments, and yet deny him by a graceless 
life : — to have the form of godliness, and yet 
deny the power thereof. -The kingdom of God 
is not in word, but in power.'' "While, there- 
fore, the non-professor is arraigned on the fact 
that he does not confess the Lord Jesus : the 
hypocritical or false professor is arraigned on 
the fact of his false profes-ion — on the fact, that 



ITS NECESSITY. 



103 



thongli he professes Christ, he believes not with 
his heart, and is a stranger to the power of the 
Christian life. And, my Friend, I call on yon, 
by the necessity of snch, and only such, a pro- 
fession as flows from faith in the heart, and is 
sustained by a corresponding life, to confess 
the Lord Jesus; and, if you do confess him, 
then to search your heart, and see on what 
principles and from what motives you do so, and 
to try your life, and see whether indeed Christ 
is living in you. 

Now, it must be plain, that the fact that a 
man may be saved without a profession of 
religion, where such profession is impracticable, 
does not in the least afleet the question of the 
necessity of such profession w^here it is practi- 
cable. And it is equally plain, that the worth- 
lessness of a false profession does not in the 
least diminish the importance, nor impair the 
value and saving utility of a genuine pro- 
fession. And men allow their judgments to 
become sophisticated, when they suffer either of 
these considerations to weaken their sense of 



104 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



the necessity and importance of the Christian 
profession. 

With these explanations, I will now turn 
your attention to some considerations, serving 
to illustrate and enforce the importance and 
necessity of this profession. 

1. The first consideration which I shall offer, 
is derived from the necessity of universal 
OBEDIENCE TO THE Sayiour. Whosoever shall 
keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, 
is guilty of all.^^ The whole authority of God 
is vested in every precept of his law. Precisely 
the same obligations which render the whole 
law binding, renders every part of it binding. 
Every precept is supported by all, and by pre- 
cisely the same sanctions, which support the 
whole law. Hence, the same principle which 
will lead us to delight in the law of God, as 
such, will lead us to delight in every precept of 
that law. That one fear of God, and that one 
love of God, and that one trust in God, which 
will cause us to respect, love, and keep his law, 
will cause us to respect, love, and keep every 



NECESSITY OF UNIVERSAL OBEDIENCE. 105 



known precept of it. Consequently, the allowed 
and continued violation of any known precept, 
shows that such violator is destitute of that fear, 
love, and trust, which are the principles of all 
and of any true and acceptable obedience — 
that his conscience is not under the dominion 
of God's authority, nor his heart under the 
dominion of his love — that so far as these 
principles are concerned, he is a transgressor of 
the whole law, and is so regarded by Him who 
looketh on the heart, and will judge the secrets 
of men — and that he is kept back from the 
formal violation of every particular precept, by 
something else than religious principle. There 
is in him a lack, which is not the believer's 
lack — God sees in him a spot which is not the 
spot of his children, but the utter defection of a 
revolted heart. He may be very moral, digni- 
fied, and amiable — he may be a decent observer 
of many things — he may, to human observa- 
tion, keep the whole law, except in this one 
point ; but, allowing himself in the violation of 
this, God marks him as a rebel and an enemy. 

And if he live and die in the allowed commission 
9 



106 



THE CHKISTIAX PE0FES5I0X. 



of this one sin, or tlie allowed neglect of this 
one duty, he will live, and die. and enter eter- 
nity, with the wrath of God abiding on him. 
••If I regard sin in my heart, the Lord will not 
hear me."' 

Xow it does not admit of a question whether 
it is a Divine command or not. to confess Christ 
before men. The passages already quoted are 
decisive proof. ''Whosoever shall confess me 
before men. him will I confess before my Father 
which is in heaven. TThosoever shall deny me 
before men, him will I also deny before my 
Father which is in heaven.'' How plain the 
duty I What a promise awaits obedience ! what 
a penalty disobedience ! How important the 
precept which is sustained by such sanctions I 
The Saviour recooiiizes no neutral oTound — no 
place of standing between confessing him and 
denvino; him. All who confess him not. are 
held as denying him: ••He that is not for 
me, is against me : and he that gathereth not 
with me, scattereth abroad.*' '• Them that 
honor me, I will honor : and they who despise 
me, shall be lightly esteemed."' There is no 



THIS DO IN REMEMBRAXCE OF ME. 107 



middle ground between honoring Christ and 
despising him. He who does not honor him 
by implicit obedience to his every command, 
despises him. He will accept no other con- 
fession of him than that which owns him to be 
Lord, to the glory of God the Father and, 
as Lord and Lawgiver, submits to him in all his 
commands. 

One of these commands is, in reference to eat- 
ing and drinking at his table : This do in 
remembrance of me.^^ As Lord, he, in this insti- 
tution, prescribes the way in which we shall con- 
fess him, and it is a casting off of his authority 
to rely on any other way of confessing him as 
sufficient, while this is neglected. But this is 
done by all those, who profess to be friends of 
the Eedeemer, or wish to be considered such, 
and yet obey not the command — This do in 
remembrance of me.^^ And then the very nature 
and circumstances of this command are such as 
to fix on disobedience to it the brand of a pecu- 
liar insensibility. There, is our Lord and Sov- 
ereign, in the character of our dying Saviour. 
As the hour of agony draws nigh, he thinks of 



108 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

our frailty and temptations, and provides for oar 
stability. He appoints a memorial of himself. 
See them I They are the emblems of his broken 
body and shed blood — his body broken for us, 
his blood shed for the remission of our sins ! 
They tell of his sufferings on account of our 
sins, and for the salvation of our immortal souls! 
They recall all the transactions and sufferings 
of that dark and dismal night; that fearful 
tragedy ; that hour and power of darkness'^ — 
the anguish of G-ethsemane; the horrors and 
oppression of the high-priest's palace and Pilate's 
judgment hall ; the ignominy and agony of the 
cross ! They place the Saviour before us as the 
point of convergency for all the malice of men, 
the fury of hell, and the wrath of Heaven — 
and undergoing all for our salvation ! As they 
tell us of his sufferings, they also tell us of his 
love, his grace, his benefits. And now from the 
throne of his glory, he points to them, and 
through them to his suffering, bleeding, body, 
and his deathless love, and all his matchless 
claims on our affectionate remembrance and obe- 
dience, and says, This do in remembrance of 



THE NON-PROFESSOK DISOBEDIENT. 109 



me I^^ How insensible the heart, that refuses to 
obey ! My friend, can you name the command, 
disobedience to which can give more decided 
proof of insensibility to a Saviour's claims ? 

As Lord, Christ Jesus commands us to take 
his yoke upon us — that is, to put ourselves in 
the place, and maintain the character of his sub- 
jects, and, as such, to conform to the government 
and laws of his kingdom. Now the man who 
does not confess Christ, just refuses to do this. 
Here is a command, which he refuses to obey. 
He may do many things which the Lord Jesus 
requires, but this he does not do. He does not 
enroll himself as a subject of Christ's kingdom. 
He refuses those seals, which the Saviour has 
appointed to put a visible difference between his 
subjects and the people of the world. He there- 
fore can not be considered a subject bearing the 
Eedeemer's yoke, any more than that man can 
be recognized as a citizen, who refuses the oath 
of allegiance. There is, then, a plain point here 
in the law, in which he offends, and though he 
keep the whole law beside, yet by offending in 
this point, he is guilty of all. By the position 



110 THE CHEISTIAN PROFESSION. 

whicli he takes at this point, lie proves himself 
a rebel to Zion's King. 

I refer not to the man, who is really deterred 
by conscientious difficulties, and who is dili- 
gently, with real concern, seeking to have his 
way clear ; but to the man, who, knowing the 
Divine law in the matter, refuses to swear fealty 
to Zion's King, and endeavors to make himself 
easy in the refusal, or thinks lightly of his obli- 
gations to wear the Saviour's yoke. This man, 
I say, is, in principle, a transgressor of the whole 
law. He is not under the dominion of the 
Saviour's authority and love. He carries with 
him the heart of a rebel, and is striving to make 
his conscience easy in the indulgence of a prin- 
ciple which will, if not repented of, lead him 
down to hell. 

He may say in his heart, as is often said 
openly, can be as good a Christian out of the 
Church, as I can in it but this is just saying, 
There is one thing in which I may trample the 
authority of God under foot ; one command, in 
regard to which I may carry about in me the 
heart of a rebel. I can be the friend of God, 



REBELLION AGAINST ZIOX's KIXG. 



Ill 



and yet disobey his Son ; I can "be tie friend of 
Christ, and yet discard his yoke/^ And what is 
this but to proclaim independence of the Bible, 
and of its great Author ? What, but downright 
infidelity I "I will obey God when I please and 
as far as I please, and no further That is, 
I stand perfectly independent of revelation. I 
will do what it enjoins so far as I see proper ; 
for I believe that a man may be just as good a 
man pursuing this course, as if he yielded a 
most scrupulous and exact obedience to all its 
injunctions/^ Could infidelity ask more? 

The whole Xew Testament proceeds on the 
principle, that a saving faith in Christ is insep- 
arable from a spirit of implicit obedience to the 
Saviour. Hence the language of the great com- 
mission: ^^He that believeth and is baptized^ 
shall be saved in which it is implied, that 
every true believer will obey the Saviour in the 
ordinance of baptism ; which is the first formal 
act of the Christian profession, with a man 
called out of the world. The same principle 
which leads a man to obey the command to be- 
lieve on the Lord Jesus, will lead him to obey 



112 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

that other command, to be baptized in his name ; 
and a refusal to obey the latter, is to be regarded 
as proof of disobedience to the former. Whence 
it follows, that every neglecter of baptism, or of 
that profession which it seals, is to be regarded 
as an unbeliever, and as yet in his sins. 

Hence, too, the language of the Apostle Peter, 
to the convicted multitudes, on the day of Pen- 
tecost: '^Eepent, and be baptized, every one of 
you, for the remission of sins.'^ That repent- 
ance only, which would prove its genuineness by 
obedience to the King and Head of the Church 
by receiving his appointed seal of discipleship, 
would secure the remission of sins. The faith 
that lays hold of pardon through the Eedeem- 
er^s blood, will lay hold of the seal of that par» 
don : " They that gladly received the word, 
were baptized.^^ It is on the same principle 
that the Apostle says, in the words quoted near 
the beginning of this Letter: With the heart 
man believeth unto righteousness, and with the 
mouth confession is made unto salvation.'^ The 
heart that believes will prompt the mouth to 
confess ; and therefore no man who refuses this 



DISOBEDIENCE EVIDENCE OF UNBELIEF. 113 



confession can be regarded as an heir of salva- 
tion. The Christian profession follows a justify- 
ing faith as inseparably and as infallibly as 
action follows life. 

In my next I shall call your attention to some 
additional considerations on this vital question. 

Yours, 



LETTEE IX. 



THE IMPORTANCE AND NECESSITY OF THE 
CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

[ Continued. ] 

My Dear Friend: — 

In the close of my last, I promised you some 
additional considerations on the importance and 
necessity of the Christian Profession. My first 
argument — the only one presented — was derived 
from the necessity of universal obedience. No 
man can disobey Christ in this matter, without 
standing convicted as a rebel against Jehovah 
and his Christ. This consideration might be 
deemed sufiicient of itself, for you know who has 
said, As for these mine enemies, who would 
not that I should reign over them, bring them 



SALVATION IS OF THE CHURCH OF GOD. 115 



hither and slay them before me/^ But it may 
be profitable to view the subject in some other 
of its aspects. And, 

II. A second consideration, which I would 
urge, is, that it is only in maintaining this pro- 
fession that we are authorized to expect the Saviour^ s 
blessing on the means of grace. The means of 
grace are institutions belonging to his kingdom. 
He has given them to his Church, and they be- 
long nowhere else, and it is only as they are in 
connection with his Church, that we have any 
warrant to expect his blessing in them. For 
the Lord hath chosen Zion ; he hath desired it 
for his habitation. This is my rest forever ; here 
will I dwell, for I have desired it, I will 
abundantly bless her provision ; I will satisfy 
her poor with bread. I will also clothe her 
priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout 
aloud for joy.' ^ 

The Church is a society, or body corporate, 
which Christ has organized in this world. Of 
it he is the head. To it, and for its welfare and 
prosperity, he has given his word, ministry, and 
ordinances. He dwells in it by his Spirit ; and 



116 



IKE CHRISII-Ly moTBSSlON. 



tiirongli Lis woTd, niiiiistrj, and ordinances, im- 
parts to it, and lO its meniljer?. Ms tlessing. 
With Ms gracious presence accenipanTin^- ihe 
institutions lie lias given it, it gathers niembers 
from tJie world, and they become partakers cf 
this blessing by beooming members of iiie tidy. 
It is sinners of the world that are cC'iivened 
tlirongh the instrumentality of this body c: r- 
porate, but no one remainiiig in the world and 
revising to join the body, <mn reagonablj expect 
to participate in the priTileges and benefits 
peculiar to the body. It is just as it is in all 
other cases. No man who refuses to join a i^ar- 
ticular society or body corporate, ear oz : : 
enjoy the p^uliar benefits of - 
body corporate. Those who remain in the world 
are never, in the Scriptures, in any instanee, 
considered as saints, or as members of the body 
of Christ. The Church visible is ever r^arded 
as embracing the Church invisible, and in no 
case are we directed to find the latter out side ; i 
the former. 

Mark the language of the AptBtle on this 
subject: -'There is one body erii ::o S 



SALYATIOX IS OF THE CHURCH OF GOD. 117 



even as you are called in one hope of your call- 
ing : one Lord, one faith, one baptism : one God 
and Father of all, who is above all, and through 
all, and in yon all. Bnt nnto every one of us 
is given grace according to the measure of the 
gift of Christ. And he gave (that is, he gave 
the Church, or body) some apostles, and some 
prophets, and some evangelists, and some pas- 
tors and teachers : for the perfecting of the 
saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edi- 
fying of the body of Christ ; till we all come in 
the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of 
the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the 
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ ; 
that we henceforth be no more children, tossed 
to and fro, and carried about vv'ith every wind of 
doctrine, by the sleight of men and cunning craft- 
iness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive : but 
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him 
in all things which is the Head, even Christ ; 
from whom the whole body, fitly joined together 
and compacted by that which every joint suppli- 
eth, according to the effectual working in the 
measure of every part, maketh increase of the 



118 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



body to the eclitying of itself in love/^ — Epli. iv, 
1-16. Again: ^' TTlierefore remember, tliat ye 
being in time past gentiles in the flesb — that at 
that time ve were without Christ, being; aliens 
from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers 
from the covenants of promise, having no hope, 
and without God in the world ; but now in Christ 
Jesus, ye. who sometimes were far off, are made 
nigh by the blood of Christ. Xow, therefore, ye 
are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow- 
citizens with the saints, and of the household of 
God; and are built upon the foundation of the 
apostles and prophets. Jesus Christ himself being 
the chief corner-stone: in whom all the building, 
fitly framed together, groweth unto a holy tem- 
ple in the Lord ; in whom ye also are builded 
too'ether. for a habitation of God throuo;h the 
Spirit/^ 

These quotations are long, but they should be 
read and pondered with care. 

From them it is manifest, that the object of 
Christ in organizing a visible Church on earth, 
was not merely to make converts, but, by bring- 
ing these converts into a distinct society, sep- 



OUT OF THE CHURCH NO SALVATION. 119 



arate from the world, to train them up and 
perfect them for heaven. Now the man who does 
not become a member of the Church says, so 
far as his example and influence can go, ^'A 
Church shall not exist.^^ If all would do as he 
does, there would he no such thing as a Church. 
He thereby opposes himself to the constitution 
of Christ, and would annihilate the instrumen- 
tality which he has appointed for the conversion 
of the world. But he does more. He shuts 
himself out from the blessings of the Saviour, 
reposited in that society, for the perfecting of 
its members to everlasting life ; and he has not 
the shadow of a reason to hope, that he, refusing 
to join the body, shall, like the members of the 
body, " come in the unity of the faith and of 
the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect 
man, unto the measure of the stature of the 
fullness of Christ.^^ Christ^s way, and the only 
reasonable way, for him to do so, is to become 
incorporated in the body. This he refuses, and 
he need not be at all surprised, if he should 
have no experience of the life, and health, and 
growth appertaining to the body. It were absurd 



120 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



to expect it. Let no one. forsaking the way of 
Christ's appointment, look for his blessing in 
the way of his own perverse choosing. His 
promise reaches only to where he has recorded 
his name. His language is. In all places 
where I have recorded my name, there will I 
come unto thee and bless thee.''' It is only in 
his Church, and the ordinances which he has 
given his Church, that his name is recorded; and 
there alone, may his presence and blessing be 
expected. It is the very object of these or- 
dinances, and especially of those sacramental 
institutions, by which Church-membership is 
recognized and Christ confessed, to promote the 
spiritual nourishment of believers and their 
growth in grace. By them Christ and his ben- 
efits are represented, signified, and sealed to 
believers ; and the man who refuses them, can 
not expect the blessings which they are the ap- 
pointed means of conveying. 

The Church is the commonwealth of God's 
chosen people — his kingdom, his house, his fam- 
ily. The promise is only to the citizens of this 
commonwealth, the subjects of this kingdom, the 



OUT OF THE CHURTH NO SALVATION. 121 



members of this family. Every society is exclu- 
sive in its nature — the very idea of a society 
involves the idea of exclusion. Those not mem- 
bers are excluded from its peculiar privileges. 
Now the privileges of the Church are not merely 
external, but spiritual and saving. Without the 
latter, there would be no significancy in the for- 
mer. How then can those who are not citizens 
in the commonwealth of Israel, or subjects in 
the Eedeemer's kingdom, expect the spiritual, 
any more than the external, privileges of that 
kingdom or commonwealth ? How can those not 
members in the household of faith, expect to 
share in the blessings of the family? The peace, 
and the government of the Prince of peace, is 
upon the kingdom of David — the Church — to 
order and establish IT. It is nowhere else. It 
is only to those who take his yoke upon them," 
that he promises rest" — rest to their souls." 
It is only those who had confessed Jesus Christ 
before men and become members of the Christ- 
ian Church, that the Apostle calls no more 
strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with 

the saints, and of the household of God." 
10 



122 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



And who beside these has any warrant from 
the Bible to expect the privileges of Zion's com- 
monwealth and God's family ? Does any one 
say, all believers ? But where do we find the Bible 
recognize any as true believers, who did not 
become Church-members? To believe in the 
Lord Jesus Christ, in apostolic times, implied 
connection with his Church. We are told, that 
the Lord added to the Church daily, such as 
should be saved."' The plain import of which is, 
that all believers joined the Church, and that 
out of the Church there is "no ordinary possi- 
bility of salvation" — that, inasmuch as the 
object of the Church is to carry on the salvation 
of all converted to the faith, so all converts must 
loin the Church, knowinc^ that salvation is of 
the Church of God. '^ 

Here let me close by quoting the language of 
the Westminster Confession of Faith; it expresses 
only what has been taught on this subject, in all 
ages with one consent : The visible Church con- 
sists of all those throughout the world that pro- 
fess the true religion, together with their children, 
and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, 



OUT OF THE CHURCH NO SALVATION. 123 



the house and family of God, out of which there 
is no ordinary possibility of salvation. Unto 
this catholic, visible Church, Christ hath given 
the ministry, oracles and ordinances of God, for 
the gathering and perfecting of the saints in 
this life, to the end of the ^vovld : and doth, by 
his o^vn presence and Spirit, according to his 
promise, make them effectual thereunto.'- 

Yours, 



LETTER X. 



THE NECESSITY AND IMPORTANCE OF THE 
CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

[ Concluded. ] 

My Dear Friend: — 

I HAVE been urging the claims of the Christ- 
ian profession from two considerations, either of 
which is sufficient to settle the question at the bar 
of an honest and enlightened conscience : 1. From 
the necessity of universal obedience. 2. From the 
fact, that out of the Church of God there is no 
ordinary possibility of salvation. But there are 
other considerations which should not be over- 
looked. They add force to those already ad- 
duced. 

III. And a very important argument in favor 



DEMANDED BY OUR SOCIAL NATURES. 125 



of the necessity and importance of this profession, 
may be derived from the social principles of our 
nature. Man is by nature a social creature. His 
faculties, his feelings, and wants; his convenience 
and comfort, all point him to society, and render 
it necessary that he should exist in the social 
state. But he must of necessity partake, in no 
small degree, of the views, feelings and char- 
acter of that society to which he belongs, and of 
those persons with whom he is habitually asso- 
ciated. They likewise lay claims upon him, and 
demand of him a homogeneity of views, feelings, 
and character ; and if he comply not with these 
demands he loses caste. Hence it is plain, that 
it must be a most difficult matter, if not utterly 
impossible, for a man, remaining out of the 
Church, to maintain the duties and character, 
the views and feelings, of a Christian. If actu- 
ated by these views and feelings, the social prin- 
ciples of his nature will prompt him to join the 
Church. He will naturally seek to be associated, 
in all the confidence of brotherhood, with those 
of kindred sentiment and feeling. Here, un- 
questionably, he will find it more easy and 



126 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

pleasant to perform the duties, and lead the life 
of a Cliristian. While he does not profess Christ 
the world ehiims him. and expects him to con- 
form to its usages, pursuits, and pleasures. His 
intercourse is of necessity most with the men of 
the world. He must make them his familiars 
and confidants. If he do not. they will take a 
liberty with him. which tliey dare not take with 
a professor of religion. They will make him 
the butt of their raillery. They will tease him 
to join in their sports and pleasures. They will 
ply all their temptations and all their seductive 
arts. They will consult his taste, and leave no 
stone unturned to make him like themselves. 
The circle in vrhich he moves may be above the 
gaming-table, and the grog-shop, but there is 
enough in the fashionable amusements of the 
higher circles to banish serious thoughts, and 
ossify the heart. 

Young men. whose characters are yet beino- 
formed, specially need the guarding influences 
of Church-membership. Leaving home to attend 
college, to acqtiire a kn<:>wledge of btisiness. or 
learn a trade, or in some other way just enter- 



de:maxded by our social xatures. 127 



ing on the duties and responsibilities of life, 
they are in special danger. Almost everywhere, 
especially in our cities and tillages, there is a 
class of men, whose feelings and principles lead 
them to associate in works of darkness. The dis- 
tinctions which they maintain in the open walks 
of life, are lost in the nightly cabal, around the 
card-table, in the grog-shop, and in those sinks 
of infamy and gnilt which are the way to hell, 
going down to the chambers of death.'' TTith 
such persons, though there may not be a fonnal 
agreement or a fixed plan, there is yet a secret 
consent, to seduce every young man who may come 
within their reach, and reduce him to their own 
standard. If there is a hell, they wish to go there 
in company, and every new recruit helps to silence 
mis^i^'inos. Thev are the retailers of infidel 
scoffs and sneers, of smutty anecdotes, of dark 
innuendos against ministers of the Gospel and 
other pious men. They laugh at religion — count 
its scruples weakness and superstition, and its 
holiest truths the tales of the nursery. They 
know how to raise objections, start difliculties, 
and excite doubts. They know how to turn the 



123 THE CHRISTIAN PEOrESSION. 

frailties and foibles of Ckristians to ridicTile, 
and raise tlie laugh, not simply at tlieir expense. 
hut at the expense of religion itself. They are 
familiar witli the infidel and immoral literature 
of the age. eonyersant with all its fascinating 
amnsenients : at home in the lurking-places of. 
e^il. and with instinctive shrewdness prepared 
to suit theii' decoy to the taste and the tempera- 
ment of their destined Tictim. They know how 
to approach a young man — ^how to spread the 
snare for his feet — how to lead him into it. 
They know how to make themselves agreeable, 
and how to flatter. " You are a fine fellow, and 
will soon get ihe better of your prejudices. All 
you want is a little knowledge of the world. 
Religion is well enough for old folks : but. if 
you have any spirit, now is the time to enjoy 
yourself.'' If any one yields the least, they will 
advance upon him. and always keep the ground 
they get : and their prey will be forced to yield 
more, and they will advance on him. and ad- 
vance on him, till he is lost. ** Evil communi- 
cations corrupt good manners. A companion 
of fools shall be destroyed.'' ''Enter not into 



A SHIELD. 



129 



the path of the Avickecl, and go not in the way 
of evil men. Avoid it ; pass not by it ; turn 
from it, and pass away. For they sleep not, 
except they have done mischief ; and their sleep 
is taken away, unless they cause some one to 
fall.'^ 

To these influences young men out of the 
Church are fearfully exposed ; but the Christian 
profession is a shield. When a person confesses 
Christ before men, and by joining the Church 
declares himself on the Lord's side, he bids such 
characters away. The language of his conduct is, 

Depart from me, ye wicked men ; ye evil doers ; 
for I will keep the commandments of my God.'' 
He abandons the world, and the world gives up 
its claim on him. He has taken his stand ; and 
they feel that it is useless any longer to ply 
him with their seductive arts. Hate his pro- 
fession as they may, and do, there is yet a ven- 
erableness, a sacredness around it, that puts an 
end to all their freedoms and familiarities, and 
keeps them at a distance. Or, if they do attack 
him, it is no longer with the lure of the tempter^ 

but with the bitterness of an open enemy, 
11 



130 



THE CHHISTIAX PKOFESSIOX. 



What a sad omen is ic then, that our young 
men so generally postpone the Christian profes- 
sion. They cast away the shield, which the 
Saviour would interpose between them and the 
adversaries of their souls, and travel unprotected 
the most dangerous part of their pilgrimage 
through the enemy's land I Xo wonder so many 
fall victims to the foe, and so few attain the 
promised rest. It argues a fearful indifference 
to their eternal interests — or a no less danger- 
ous self-confidence. For let him that thinketh 
he standeth, take heed lest he fall. 

But not only is the man. who refuses the 
Christian profession, exposed to the dangerous 
influences of the world, but he shuts himself out 
from the benign social influences of the people 
of Grod. While a man does not make a profes- 
sion, he can not enjoy with freedom and confi- 
dence the society of Christian people. He and 
they both feel a restraint and a distrust, which 
Christians do not feel toward one another. They 
can not regard him as a brother, and can not 
act toward him with the feelings they have to a 
brother ; and he knows and feels that they can 



NON-PROFESSOR SHUT OUT. 131 

not. Their society, therefore is less pleasing 
and less profitable to him. His sympathies as 
a social being, will lead him to seek society and 
the free and unreserved intercourse of men some- 
where ; and the very fact that he does not and 
can not enjoy it among Christians, will tempt 
him to seek it in the world. 

But when a man joins the Church, and just in 
proportion as he walks worthy of his profession, 
he is admitted to the confidence and the sym- 
pathies of all the true members of the house- 
hold of faith, and, enjoying the advantages of 
their society, is freed from the temptation, to 
which the non-professor is exposed, to indulge 
his social affections in the society and customs 
of the world, whose friendship is enmity with 
God.'^ 

IV. Another consideration, my friend, worthy 
of your attention, is, that a ^profession of religion 
is necessary in order to a filial and comfortable 
discharge of other Christian duties. Here I may 
appeal to the experience of those persons who 
have been under the government of religious 
convictions, and have felt it to be their duty to 



132 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



join the Church, but vet have delayed from time 
to time. Have you never ol3served. how they 
have been deterred from certain duties, as. for 
example, family worship, and the invocation of 
the Divine blessing on their meals, in a great 
measure by the consideration that they were 
not professors of religion ? This, particularly in 
the presence of strangers. They felt, that had 
they been professors of religion, it would have 
been expected of them : but not being such, it 
would rather excite surprise : and so, being des- 
titute of the plea and reason of the Christian 
profession, their feelings of backwardness- and 
timidity overcame their sense of duty. 

But there is another thing to be considered. 
Living in the neglect of the known duty of con- 
fessing Christ, their conscience is not void of 
offense toward God. The guilt of this neglect, 
and of those other neglects into which it betrays 
them, haunts them in those Christian duties 
which they do attempt. The feeling of a culprit 
steals upon them as they read their Bible, or 
hear the Gospel, or kneel in their closet. The 
spirit of bondage and fear entrammels them. 



NON-PROFESSOU SHUT OUT. 133 

They are are strangers to the boldness and lib- 
erty of the spirit of adoption, and to the feelings 
of a child of God in communion with his Heav- 
enly Father. This renders the secret duties of 
religion less pleasant, if not unpleasant — and 
tempts to their total neglect. In the midst of 
these duties they are ever and anon reminded 
of these awful sayings of Christ, and the mon- 
itor within whispers that they stand recorded 
against them: If any man be ashamed of me, 
and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful 
generation, of him shall the Son of Man be 
ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his 
Father, with the holy angels. Whosoever 
shall deny me before men, him will I also deny 
before my Father which is in heaven.'^ 

V. Finally, I would have you to consider, that 
the solemn obligations under wMch ive come in 
professing Christ, are a salutary and a necessary 
check and safeguard of our religious principles, 
amid the temptations of life. We are weak; 
and temptations, manifold and powerful, beset 
us on every side. The vows and obligations 
of the Christian profession, when duly consid- 



134: THE CHPJSTIAy PEOFESSION. 

ered. serve to place us '\\t guard, and 
iiQpjse a povrerful restraint <on our rising 
passions and c':^.::: :r r.^;'^:-:::r-. The thouglit 
that we have vc'-Tc'l to \^ '\o'-^ :'oo^ ^" 

over the t^mhlenis of the ..:.._:v-_ . . ..y 
bL»d of the E-deerner. and in the presence of 
the Church, and the worLd. and of angels and 
men — that, by doing this sinful thing, or leav- 
ing that duty undone, vre shall break our 



covenant with our L-rod. and bring: re^ ' ' on 
his name, is a thought well suited x us 
rally, and recover our standing in i^- :^our 
when temptation has caused us to waver. It is 



a means of conservation which He. who knows 
our fi^ames. has app'jinted : and it is one which 
wisdom and humility vrill embrace, and which 
fi'lly and pride only will reject. It is no 
impeachment of a man's moral or religious 
principle to say that he needs it. Just so the 
oath :-- nia::^r^. It i- ex-;:-ed the 

most „;::;:..,„_e ana virtuous mdi. I:- appli- 
cation ^0 the mo^t illustrious individuals is 
based. :;:;:._a_y i.: ; ihr ^loun- oi auy par- 
ticular lack of ^urtue. but on the ground of our 



A XECESSAKY CHECK. 135 

common frailty, wliicli renders such restraints 
and safeguards needful. 

My Friend, let me entreat you to lav these 
considerations to heart. EevieT^- them : — First ; 
You can not refuse this profession without dis- 
obeying Christ : and willful disobedience, in any 
case, is damning. Second : It is only in the 
Church of God that you have any warrant to 
expect the saving influence of the Holy Spirit 
to make you meet for heaven. Third: The 
very laws of your social nature require you, 
if you would be saved, to withdraw from the 
society of the world, and join that of the people 
of God; and this you can do only by joining 
the Church. Fourth : A profession of religion 
is necessary to the filial and comfortable per- 
formance of other religious duties : so that if 
you neglect this profession, you expose your- 
self to the danger of abandoning religion 
altogether. And. finally ; The vows and obli- 
gations of the Christian profession are a neces- 
sary safeguard amid the temptations of life. 
And. withal, keep in mind the solemn and oft- 
repeated declaration of Him whose words never 



136 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

fall to the ground, that he will deny before 
his Father and the holy angels, the man who 
neglects this profession. Consider these things, 
and if you have never made this profession, it 
is high time for you to make your final deci- 
sion. Then make up your mind ; and whatever 
reason decides to he duty, do it Avith your might. 

There are two classes of non-professors ; and, 
if you are a non-professor, it behooves you to 
consider to which of these classes you belong. 

First ; there are the manifestly careless. 
These are unfit to join the Church. But why? 
Because destitute of religion. They are unbe- 
lievers and impenitent sinifers. They may have 
a speculative belief in the truth and doctrines 
of Christianity : but they believe not with their 
hearts. With all their belief, they are care- 
less ; while the very devils believe and tremble. 
They know that they are unfit to join the 
Church; but, 0! that they would lay to heart 
all that is implied in their unfitness. It is, 
that they are destitute, and that by their own 
willful rejection of it, of the only justifying 
righteousness made known to a guilty world, 



THE CARELESS XON-PROFESSOR. 137 



and are consec[iiently under the wrath and 
curse of Almighty God. This is their condem- 
nation, that light has come into the world, 
and they have chosen darkness rather than 
light, because their deeds are evil. Bj their 
unbelief they make God a liar and the 
wrath of God abideth on them/^ Unfit for the 
society of God's people here, they are much 
more unfit for heaven. The only place in the 
universe for which they are fit, is hell. They 
are continued on earth only by the long-suffer- 
ing of God. Their first duty, and their only 
hope, is to flee immediately, without another 
moment's delay, from the wrath to come, and 
betake themselves, by faith in a crucified 
Saviour, to the only hope for our lost world. 

He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be 
saved ; but he that believeth not, shall be 
damned.'- 

But there is another class of non-professors : 
They may be called serious persons. Such keep 
the Sabbath, read the Bible, attend the house of 
God, perhaps attend the prayer-meeting, and 
keep up family duties and closet religion : but 



138 THE CHUISTIAN PROFESSION. 

they keep back from the Lord's table. Their 
usual plea is their unworthiness, and their fear 
of failing in their profession. Both these pleas 
show a dangerous unbelief. If they had a 
proper sense of their unworthiness, they would 
go to Christ, that through his righteousness 
and grace they might be rendered meet ; and 
if they had a proper sense of their weakness, 
they would rely on the spirit of Christ to 
strengthen them. They would hail with joy 
the assurance, " My grace shall be sufficient for 
you ; for my strength is made perfect in weak- 
ness.^' It is not by remaining out of the 
Church that they are to make trial of Christ's 
faithfulness and grace to support them in the 
faith and obedience of the Gospel ; but by pro- 
fessing his name, and seeking him in all his 
institutions. 

And if any, professing to have these fears, 
do really mourn over their unbelief ; if they 
are pained under their sense of unworthiness ; 
if they long to be delivered from their sins 
and their temptations ; if they thirst after an 
interest in Christ, and after conformity to his 



THE THOUaHTEUL NOX-PHOFESSOR. 139 



image, and conscientiously T\'ait on Gocl in all 
other duties ; then it is their privilege, as well 
as their duty, to come to the table of the Lord, 
as the best means, and the appointed means, of 
strengthening their faith, and delivering them 
from their doubts and fears. Who is among 
you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the 
voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness 
and hath no light? Let him trust in the name 
of the Lord, and stay upon his God/' Israel's 
shepherd ^' gathers the lambs in his arms, and 
carries them in his bosom.'' ''He has com- 
passion on the ignorant and them that are out 
of the way." '' The bruised reed he will not 
break, and the smoking flax he will not 
quench." 

Sometimes we find men excusing themselves 
for not joining the Church, by adverting to the 
infirmities and inconsistencies of professors of 
religion. This is sometimes done in connec- 
tion with an expression of fear, that they them- 
selves might fail in like manner. But what 
does this fear in this connection amount to? 
To nothing less than a charge that the failure 



140 



THE CHRISTIAN PROIESSION. 



of these members of the Churcli lias falsified 
the Saviour's promise. Because these have 
failed, through their unbelief, you are not 
willing to trust the Saviour's Trord! But some- 
times the inconsistencies and infirmities of 
professors are referred to as a real objection 
to the Christian profession. This is another 
example of the illogical reasoning of the carnal 
heart. Can the failure of some men to do their 
duty, when they profess to do it, excuse others 
in neglecting their duty altogether? Until 
this is made out, the objection is worthless. 
The professor who fails in his profession, must 
account to God for that failure; and the man 
who altogether neglects that profession, must 
account for that neglect. " Every man shall 
bear his own burden/' 

Occasionally we find men pleading, that there 
is no Church in reach whose doctrines and 
worship suit them. Yrhere this plea is con- 
scientious, let such, for their own good and 
their children's, and for the glory of Christ, 
be entreated to move, even should it be with 
worldly loss, into the bounds of a Church with 



PLEAS FOR OMITTING IT. 141 

which they can conscientiously unite. But often, 
I fear, the plea is insincere ; and it behooves 
those who use it to inquire, in the presence of 
Him who will judge the secrets of men by 
Jesus Christ, if they are not merely consult- 
ing their own convenience and indifference in 
remaining out of the Church ? And let them 
ask themselves, if they are not living in the 
frequent omission, if not total neglect, of closet 
devotion and family religion? ''Doth not He 
that pondereth the heart, consider it ? and He 
that keepeth thy soul, doth He not know it ? 
And shall not He render to every man accord- 
ing to his works ? 

Yours, 



LET TEE XI 



THE TRIALS OF THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 
My Deae Feiend: — 

Having- taken a view of the nature, duties, 
importance, and necessity of tlie Christian pro- 
fession. I -would now place before vou some of 
its TRIALS. Our Saviour does not wish us to 
enter on this profession without counting the 
cost. He gives us fair warning, that trials — ■ 
peculiar trials — await us if we enlist in his 
service : and he will have us to enlist with no 
other feelings than those of men who expect 
to endure hardness as good soldiers. The fol- 
lowing passage, in the fourteenth chapter of the 
Gospel according to Luke, is very instructive : 
And there went great multitudes with him ; 



TRIALS FORETOLD AND TO BE EXPECTED. 1-43 



and he turned, and said unto tliem, If any man 
come to me, and liate not liis father, and 
mother, and ^rife, and children, and brethren, 
and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he can 
not be my disciple. And whosoever doth not 
bear his cross, and come after me, can not be 
my disciple. For which of you intending to 
build a tower, sitteth not down first, and count- 
eth the cost, whether he have sufiicient to finish 
it ? Lest, haply, after he hath laid the founda- 
tion, and is not able to finish it. all that behold 
it beoin to mock him. sayino;, This man beo:an 
to build, and was not able to finish. Or what 
king going to make war against another king, 
sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether 
he be able with ten thousand, to meet him that 
cometh against him with twenty thousand? 
Or else, while the other is yet a great way ofi*, 
he sendeth an embassage, and desireth condi- 
tions of peace. So, likewise, whosoever he be 
of you that forsaketh not all he hath, can not 
be my disciple.'^ 

Jesus Christ wants no faint-hearted recruits. 
Every man who joins his standard, must come 



144 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFHSSIOX. 



fully resolved, fully equipped, prepared to do 
battle to tlie end. In order to do this, one 
tiling necessary is to know something of the 
trials which await him. To be forewarned, is 
to be forearmed. 

The peculiar trials of the Christian pro- 
fession, flow from the peculiar station which the 
Christian, from the very nature of his pro- 
fession, occupies : from the peculiar duties he 
has to perform : and. from the circumstances in 
which he is called to exercise his profession, 
ha vino; to contend with indwellino-' sin. the 
fascinations and oppositions of this sinful world, 
and. the crafty, malicious, and powerful eftbrts 
of Satan. It will, therefore, my Friend, be 
necessary to carry with us a view of the nature 
and duties of this profession. You will please, 
then, recur to the points presented in Letters 
Second to the Seventh inclusive. 

Some of the sorest trials of the Christian, 
and deserving to be named first, are those 
which result from his contendings with self. 
In all his duties, there is an opposing principle 
within himself, against which he has to main- 



TRIALS FROM SELF. 



145 



tain a continual warfare — Sin whicli dwelletli 
in him.'^ Tlie flesh, lusteth against the spirit, 
and the spirit against tlie flesh ; and these are 
contrary, the one to the other, so that ye can 
not do the things that ye would/ ^ The flesh 
is the principle of remaining depravity in the 
Christian; elsewhere called the '^old man,'' 
which is described as " corrupt according to the 
deceitful lusts.'' It is called the wmij because 
the corruption aff'ects the whole human person 
in all his parts and powers ; and the old man, 
because it denotes the principle under which we 
are fl^rst by nature, and continue to be till we 
are regenerated, and because it is a principle 
which, in the true Christian, is decaying, and 
will at last vanish away. It is called the flesh, 
because its propensities are, in their more strik- 
ing workings, excited and gratified through 
the bodily organs, and because it continues to 
trouble the Christian so long as he is in this 
present body, and no longer. 

In regeneration, a new principle is created in 
the soul — a principle of spiritual life — a prin- 
ciple of holiness. This is called the spirit, and 
12 



146 THE CHRISIIAX PROFESSION. 

the neiv man. The ' " : janse prodneed 
by the HoIt ^fpii4t : oecaii-r i: renders the man 
in whom it is. spiiitual : — in knowledge, right- 
eousness, and holiness, like unto God, the 
Father of spirits : and becanse it fits tls for the 
enjoYments and employments of the spiritual 
world. It is Ocilled the ; ; . . '; ?:ause it 
pervades the whole man in his entire moral 
constitution : and Wause it cc>mes in aiter 
the principle of corruption has had the sway, 
and gi'ows strong as that principle decays, 
and shall flourish in the beauty and rigor of 
immortal youth, when the other shall have 
forever disappeared. These two principles aj^e 
in direct and uncompromising antagonism. 

These are contrary the one to the other." 
The consequence is a continual conflict. The 
spirit, or new man. is for maintaining the 
Christian profession, with all its aflections and 
duties. The flesh, the old man. is opposed : 
and. though the spirit is predominant, the other 
is strong and restless : — an enemy, though 
mortally wounded, yet <:if an unsubdued and 
unsulxluable spirit, puttinsr forth his energies. 



TRIALS FROM SELL 



147 



and taking advantage at every opportunity ; 
and, with tlie world and Satan as paixiliaries, it 
gains many a temporary advantage, so that the 
Christian can not do the things which he 
would." 

Such is the Christian's condition in this 
world. In heaven alone will the spiritual, or 
new man, reign unimpeded, unannoyed, hy the 
flesh. There alone shall the Christian serve 
and enjoy God without painful conflicts with 
corrupt self ; for, from this corrupt self he will 
never be entirely delivered, till he enter that 
state of sinless perfection. The greater spirit- 
ual maturity he attains, the less violent and 
painful, for the most part, will the struggle 
become : because, as the flesh waxes weaker, and 
the spirit waxes stronger, the conquest will be 
more easy ; but the warfare ceases not till 
carnal self is destroyed. As long as the Chris- 
tian is in this world, he needs to keep the law 
of Christ practically in view, as a law that still 
continues to be applicable to himself: ''If any 
man will come after me, let him deny himself, 



148 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

The denial of self will be his work till the end 
of his days. 

That professing Christian may seem to savor 
of a high degree of sanctity, who says that he 
finds nothing difficult or painful, in this matter. 
But if he speaks as he feels, it is manifest that 
he is a stranger to the work of self-denial — 
that he does not deny himself, and is a miserable 
self-deceiver. And, my friend, if there is noth- 
ing in which you have to exercise a painful self- 
denial, I tremble for your condition ! Even the 
apostle Paul, who did not count his life dear 
unto him for Christ\s sake, had yet to lament 
with a heart wrung with anguish, I know that 
in me, (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good 
thing ; for to will is present with me, but how 
to perform that which is good, I find not. For 
the good that I would, I do not, but the evil 
which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that 
I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin 
that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that 
when I would do good, evil is present with me. 
For I delight in the law of God, after the inner 



TEIALS FROM SELF. 



149 



man. But I see another lavf in mj members, 
warring against the law of mv mind, and bring- 
ing me into captivity to the law of sin which is 
in mj members. 0 wretched man that I am ! 
who shall deliver me from the body of this 
death 

It is evident that the apostle in this passage 
gave his then present experience — his experi- 
ence as a Christian, highly sanctified though he 
was — and not his experience before his con- 
version, as some contend. The subject of this 
painful conflict, and of this doleful complaint, 
describes himself at the same time as ''delight- 
ing in the law of God, after the inner man.^^ 
But no unregenerate person can delight in the 
law of Grod ; on the contrary, as the apostle 
affirms in the very next chapter, " the carnal 
mind is enmity against God ; for it is not sub- 
ject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.^^ 

In another place, speaking of himself, as all 
must admit, in his apostolic course, he uses the 
following figurative, but very expressive lan- 
guage, graphically descriptive of a powerful 
and painful struggle with self : I, therefore. 



150 



THE CHHISTIAX PROFESSION. 



SO run. not as uncertainlT : so fight I. not as one 
tliat beatetli tlie air : but I keep under my body, 
and bring it into subjection, lest tliat by any 
means when I bave preacned to otbers, I myself 
should be a- castaway.'^ 

All parts of Scripture concur in representing 
the denial of self, not only as the duty of the 
professing Christian, but as a duty inyolying 
trials and difficulties of the most painful kinds. 
Various figures are used to represent this. Is 
it a j)ainful thing for a man of sensibility to 
haye his feelings mortified — or. is mortification 
in any member of the body usually connected 
with seyere. and often extreme, pain ? This 
figure is used : Mortify, therefore, your mem- 
bers which are on the earth.'' Is the plucking 
out of an eye, or the amputation of an arm or 
a foot painful ? This figure is used: -'And if 
thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast 
it from thee ; and if thy right hand offend thee, 
cut it oft', and cast it from thee : for it is pro- 
fitable for thee, that one of thy members should 
perish, and not that thy whole body should be 
cast into hell.'' But worst of all. is crucifixion 



TRIALS FROM SELF. 



161 



painful, in which the body, after being severely 
scourged, is fastened by iron spikes, driven 
through the hands and feet, to a cross, which 
is then violently planted in the ground, and the 
body, suspended in its vfhole weight by the 
hands and feet, is left to linger, in an agony of 
torture, till death? This figure is used : ^' Cru- 
cify the flesh with the affections and lusts/^ 

Those things, which are in themselves painful 
and disagreeable, become far more so when we 
have to inflict them on ourselves. Many have 
suffered the amputation of an arm or leg, but 
few could summon courage to amputate their 
own. But all these painful deeds of self-denial 
we must perform on ourselves. It is self-denial. 
It is that which requires moral courage — a 
doing, and suffering, and foregoing things from 
fixed principles. Let him deny himself,^ ^ 
" Mortify your corrupt members.^^ If thine 
eye ofiend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from 
thee.'^ Now all this, making all due allowance 
for the strength of the figures, may teach us, 
that that professor of the religion of Jesus, who 
has no painful and disagreeable struggles with 



152 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

self, in the discliarge of his duties as a Christian, 
has the strongest reason to apprehend that he 
has only a name to live. 

The heart is deceitful above all things, and 
desperately wicked ; and sad and distressing is 
the evidence which the truly enlightened Chris- 
tian has of this truth in the workings of deprav- 
ity in his own heart. It meets and annoys and 
strives to baffle him at every point ; it would 
corrupt his purest affections and pollute his 
holiest services. 

In the first great duty of the Christian Pro- 
fession, for example — that is, in the exercise 
of those vital principles of grace which lie at 
the foundation of the Christian character — what 
a conflict with self does the true Christian ex- 
perience I Here the enemy is righteous self. 
The man of undissembled piety finds it a most 
difficult matter to feel himself sufficiently low 
in the presence of God ; and after his most 
strenuous efforts to abase himself, it is his grief 
that he thinks of himself more highly than he 
ought to think. And this proneness to form a 
good opinion of himself, often involves him in 



TRIALS FROM SELF. 163 

the meshes of self-righteousness and self-suffi- 
ciency ere he is aware. It steals upon him like 
the nightmare at the very time that he is repos- 
ing most sweetly in communion with Grod ; and 
then, like a dark cloud on the face of the sun, 
it obscures his view of God^s glory, holiness and 
grace, and covers from his sight the light of 
God's countenance. A feeling of self-righteous- 
ness often steals in with the happy consciousness 
of gracious aflFections, and gracious conduct, to 
mar his reliance on the Saviour's merits ; and a 
feeling of self-sufficiency, to mar his reliance on 
the Saviour's grace. Insidious self-esteem often 
prevents him from realizing the hatefulness of 
sin, and from humbling himself, and loathing 
and abhorring himself, as he would, and hardens 
that heart which he wishes to keep broken and 
contrite. Self-love clashes with love to God, 
and with benevolence to men ; and militates 
against a proper concern for his own soul. Of 
all this every true Christian is more or less sen- 
sible ; and deplores, that in himself, he finds an 
enemy at the very threshhold— an enemy that 
assails the life and soul of his profession, 
13 



154 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

Follow tlie Christian into the second great 
duty of his profession — the observance of Gospel 
ordinances. Here depraved self opposes him in 
various ways. It suggests divers excuses for 
neglecting them, or some of them — if not 
altogether — for a season, until a more con- 
venient time ; if not for a season, at least for 
this time — this once — only this once. But if 
the Christian will not at all neglect, then the 
workings of this indwelling depravity render 
him liable to formality. He must watch and 
pray, lest, while he keeps up the forms of wor- 
ship, he fall into a spiritual stupor that would turn 
all into a lip service and the solemn mockery of 
an unengaged heart — a besetting sin, it is to be 
feared, of many professing Christians of the 
present day. But should the Christian gain the 
mastery at this point, and find himself enabled 
to worship God with lively affections, then he is 
in danger of self-complacency and self-adulation ; 
of taking glory to himself, instead of ascribing 
all the glory to God ; and of trusting his frames 
and his graces, instead of relying solely in the 
righteousness and grace of Christ. Thus it is 



TRIALS FROM SELF. 



155 



a battle from beginning to end ; and the enemy 
within is to be watched and resisted at every 
step. 

Again: follow the Christian into the third 
great duty of his profession — the practice of the 
social virtues. Self-interest and appetite tempt 
him to turn aside from that which is just, and 
true, and pure, and lovely, and praiseworthy ; 
while his profession not only calls him to a 
higher exhibition of these virtues than is fur- 
nished in the practice of worldly men, but 
requires him to be virtuous from higher prin- 
ciples than those which influence the men of the 
world. The latter are virtuous from selfish 
principles, or from principles resolvable into self- 
ishness, and the great difliculty of the Christian 
is so to deny himself as to rise above these prin- 
ciples, and practice the social virtues from a 
pure sense of duty — to do those things which 
are just and true, and of good report, not because 
it will secure him the respect and good-will of 
men, nor yet merely because these things are 
useful to society, but chiefly because they are 
just, and right, and agreeable to the will of 



156 THE CHRISTIAN PKOFESSION. 

God. Tlie Cliristiau has tlien to combat tlie 
selfisli tendencies of liis nature, not merely that 
lie may not come short in the practice of these 
wtues, but also that he may practice from 
higher principles than those of the world. 

But it is in the next class of Christian duties, 
that our indwelling depravity arrays itself in 
most vigorous and restless antagonism — in the 
exercise of humility, meekness, forbearance, and 
forgiveness ; those tempers and graces, Trhich are 
peculiarly Chris t4ike. and which pre-eminently 
distinguish the possessor as a disciple of Jesus. 
These are the peculiar and distinguishing virtues 
of the Gospel, which our proud, selfish hearts are 
most reluctant to obey. The Gospel says, Be 
clothed with humility but self is proud. The 
Gospel says, "Blessed are the meek;^^ but self 
is easily provoked, stirs up wrath, and flies into 
a passion. The Gospel says, Forbear one 
another in love:'^ but self exclaims, '-I will 
bear it no longer.'' The Gospel says, " Be kind 
to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one 
another, even as God for Christ's sake hath for- 



TBIALS FROM SELP. 



157 



given you but self is implacable, resentful, 
and stern in demanding satisfaction. Tbe 
Gospel says, Confess your faults to one 
another, and pray for one another but self 
is high-spirited, and says, I can not stoop 
to that.'' 

And in the last-named duty of the Christian 
profession, that of studying the prosperity of the 
Christian commonwealth, the Christian has to 
combat that corrupt principle still lurking with- 
in him, which would lead him to seek his own, 
instead of the things of Jesus Christ. The self- 
ish passions of envy, pride and vain-glory, would 
disturb Zion's peace, and increase her divisions. 
The love of ease would render him inactive in 
her service. A selfish dread of public opinion, 
the fear of man which bringeth a snare, and the 
love of popularity would cramp, or turn aside, 
those energies, which he should employ in the 
cause of truth and holiness, and in opposing 
infidelity, error, and yice. And the love of 
wealth and worldly display, self-interest, and 
indulgence in the conveniences and luxuries of 



158 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



life, and parsimony, whicli is notoriously fruitful 
in its excuses, would suggest various pleas, vrliv 
lie should contribute sparingly for tlie spread of 
the Gospel. 

Thus far. my dear friend. I have endeavored 
to point out some of the difficulties and trials, 
with which the Christian has to contend in his 
profession, growing out of the selfish and de- 
praved principles of his own heart. This is his 
most dangerous enemy, that one which gives 
every other the advantage. To this enemy the 
attention of Christians is not sufficiently directed. 
They are not sufficiently aware of his power, his 
deadly hostility to the soul, and to the honor 
and service of Christ. But he must "be watched, 
resisted, subdued, or we shall fail both in the 
duties of our profession and in the recompense 
of the reward. 

Truly the Christian is a phenomenon, which 
can not be explained to the world. His soul is 
the seat of grand antagonisms, and the theater 
of a mighty confiict. involving the interests of 
eternity, and the rival claims of the Sovereign 
of the universe and of the Prince of darkness. 



TRIALS FROM SELF. 



159 



The struggle is painful, but it must be endured. 
If it be not, the soul will inevitably fall the easy 
and hopeless prey of the Destroyer. 

In my next, I will notice some trials of a dif- 
ferent character. 

Yours, 



LETTER XII. 



THE TRIALS OF THE CHRISTLiN PROFESSION. 

[ Concluded. ] 

My Dear Friend: — 

We have seen how, in maintaining his pro- 
fession, tlie Christian lias to contend with self. 
But there are other sources of trial and diffi- 
culty. " Christ gave himself for us, that he 
might deliver us from this j)resent evil world.'' 
The world in its attractions and interests, its 
social influences, and the hatred and opposition 
of its people, throws many obstacles in the path 
of the Christian Profession. 

The things of the world occasion many a trial 
of the Christian's faith, and cause him to waver 
in duty. Often its cares and embarrassments 
pour their anguish into his heart, and distract 



TRIALS FROM THE WORLD. 161 

his soul with vexing thoughts. Wealth, fame, 
power, pleasure, fashion, present themselves with 
all their blandishments and charms, and strive 
to divert his attention from the invisible world ; 
to efface from his mind its solemn realities ; to 
call him away from the objects of faith, to 
the objects of sense ; to engross his mind and 
heart; to dislodge the love of God from his 
soul, and enthrone in its stead the love of the 
world; to turn him aside from the great duties 
of Gospel obedience, and cause him to walk 
after the lust of the flesh, the lust of the 
eye and the pride of life. Alas ! how many 
have been prevented from making the Christ- 
ian profession ; and how many, when they have 
made it, have failed in maintaining it, or 
even turned aside from the holy commandment 
delivered unto them, through the influence of 
business, and politics, and worldly associations ! 
By grasping at wealth and being drawn into 
the vortex of speculation and trade — a besetting 
evil and danger of the age ; by aspiring at office 
and fame ; by engaging with eagerness in 
political strife; by indulging in the convivial- 



162 



THE CHRI^TIAX PEOFESSIOlJf. 



ities of the jovial l3oard. and in fa^l:::::aoIe 
amusements, wlieilier ai the halh the pariv. the 
dinner-table, the theater, or the country frolic, 
they have encountered temptations which have 
proTed too strong for their strength, and they 
have fallen. The world is full of temptations 
on every hand : at every turn it displays its 
lure, adapted to every temperament and taste : 
and. go where we will, it makes the Da.se appeal 
to our passions and appetites. How continually 
should the Christian he on his guard ! H'jvr 
should he watch and pray, that he enter not 
into temptation I How should the ^varning he 
sounding perpetually in his ears. Love not the 
world, nor the things of the world. If any man 
love the world, the love of the Father is not in 
him. For all that is in the vrorld. the lust of 
the fiesh. the lust of the eye. and the pride of 
life, is not of the Father, hut of the world. And 
the world passeth away, and the lus: t:::r?of. 
hut he that doeth the will of God aLva-ih : .'r- 
ever."' " They that will be rich fall into temp- 
tation and a snare, and into many foolish and 
hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction 



TRIALS PROM THE WORLD. 



163 



and perdition. For the love of money is tlie 
root of all evil ; which, while some coveted after, 
they have erred from the faith, and pierced 
themselves through with many sorrows. The 
night is far spent, the day is at hand : let us 
therefore cast off the works of darkness, let us 
put on the armor of light. Let us Tralk becom- 
ingly as in the day : not in rioting and drunk- 
enness, not in chambering and wantonness, not 
in strife and envying. But put ye on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for 
the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof' 

But if the things of the world present obsta- 
cles to the Christian profession, so do the people 
of the world ; and in various ways. 

Trials to his profession await the Christian, 
growing out of the very ties which bind him 
to society. Christians are appointed by Christ 
to be the salt of the earth, and, as such, they 
are dispersed through the social mass. The 
whole world lieth in T\-ickedness, and the friend- 
ship of the world is enmity with G-od : but yet 
it is the will of God. that his people should be 
brought into contact with the several portions 



164 



THE CHRISTIAN PROrESSION. 



of tliis corrupt mass, by the divers ties and 
in the varied intercourse of the social state. 
As hushands and wives, parents and children, 
brothers and sisters, masters and servants, asso- 
ciates in business, neighbors, kinsmen, fellow- 
citizens, they are joined together and mingled, 
often in the closest intimacies, believers with 
unbelievers. And this cannot be avoided: and. 
if it could, an important end would be defeated 
— Christians would cease to be the salt of the 
earth. 

But though thus intimately blended with the 
world in the various relations, interests, and 
pursuits of society, the profession of the Chris- 
tian forbids him to be conformed to the world 
in any of its moral traits, or to have any 
fellowship with it in any of its unfruitful works 
of darkness : but. on the contrary, makes it 
his duty, both by precept and example, to 
reprove them, Xow, here is a trial. First, to 
resist these social influences, and remain unse- 
duced by the numerous and powerful tempta- 
tions which they present to conform to the 
world. And. second, to be able, not only to 



SOCIAL TEMPTATIONS. 



165 



withstand, but so to withstand, as to be *^the 
light of the world,'^ and ^Hhe salt of the 
earth ; exerting a positive and effectual moral 
influence over the ungodly with whom he is 
connected. And, third, to have moral courage 
to risk the ill-will of those to whom he may be 
endeared by many ties. Experience shows, 
that it is exceedingly difficult to keep up the 
intercourse of these several relationships, and 
at the same time maintain, without abatement 
of principle, or compliance with the world, the 
holy, godly, and heavenly deportment of the 
Christian. And also, that it is painfully trying, 
by a course of unflinching and uncompromising 
firmness, to resist the wishes, wound the feel- 
ings, and procure to ourselves the coldness and 
indifference — perhaps the ill-will and raillery — 
of those with whom we are closely connected, 
and are under the necessity of daily intercourse, 
whom we respect and love, and whose friendship 
we wish to enjoy. 

But fidelity on the part of the Christian 
exposes him to all this. 

There are some things in the Christian Pro- 



166 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

fession whicli the world esteems and admires— 
the social virtues. He that in these things 
serveth Christ, is not only acceptable to God, 
but approved of men. He must be a monster, 
who can condemn or hate these virtues. But 
still the world hates the Christian profession as 
such. It hates it as a whole, for the hatred it 
has to what is peculiar in it. Every attentive 
observer of men and things, must have noticed 
the fact, that the Christian gets not half the 
credit for his honesty and benevolence which 
the man of the world does. The same virtue 
which would render an infidel distinguished, 
will leave a Christian unnoticed — a practical 
tribute of acknowledgment, by the way, to the 
excellence of religion ; for little is expected of 
the infidel, and when he happens to present a 
virtuous character, it attracts our notice. But 
there is a peculiar willingness in the world to 
give him credit for his virtues, and a peculiar 
reluctance to give the Christian credit for his; 
and a great readiness to give him full credit 
for all his faults. Now, the reason of this is 
obvious : — The world hates the Christian 



HATRED xlND REPROACH OF THE ^TORLD. 167 



Professim, It is prejudiced against it l3Y the 
antipathies of the carnal mind, which is enmity 
against God; and men are always reluctant to 
accord anything virtuous or praiseworthy to 
those whom they hate, or against whom they 
are prejudiced. It is on this principle that you 
see thousands loud in the praise of virtue, yet 
making a mockery of godliness and piety. 
And, on this principle, the vices of infidels are 
concealed, while the sins of professors are trum- 
peted with an air of triumph ; and the virtues 
of Christians are unnoticed, while those of 
unbelievers are proclaimed from the housetops. 
This is only one among many evidences, that 
the world is up in arms of rebellion against 
God. 

By the profession he makes, the Christian 
declares himself on God's side ; and he may 
expect to be the butt of the world's hostility. 
Christ forewarned his disciples of this: '* In the 
world ye shall have tribulation If any man 
will come after me, let him take up his cross. 
The cross denotes shame and pain, reproach 
and suffering, for the sake of a crucified 



16S IKE CHKI^TIa:S" PROrESSIOX. 

Saviour. He who professes Christ, not expect- 
ing such thing's, will, if faithful to his Master, 
be grievously disappointed. And he that is not 
willing to meet them, is not fit for the king- 
dom of G-od. 

Sometimes the opposition of the world has 
more power, and displays more fury and vi.> 
lenee. than at others: but ii springs from the 
enmity of the carnal mind : and Christians, in 
every age. must hiy out tlieir accounts to meet 
it in one fjrm or other : if not in the form of 
open persecution, yet in other unmistakable 
manifestations of bitter dislike. It is still true, 
that thi'ough much tribulation we must enter 
the kingdom of God — that all that will live 
godly in Christ Jesus shall stiifer p>ersecution — 
and that, if we were of the world, the world 
would love its own : and because we are not 
of the world, but the Saviour has chosen us out 
of the world, therefijre the world hates us. 

Sometimes unnecessary opposition is pro- 
voked by imprudence. Professors of religion 
sometimes, and even good men sometimes, have 
a very unlovely— nay. a repulsive turn ; acd. 



HATRED AXD REPROACH OF THE ^"ORLD. 169 



sometimes, tliej are headlong and rash, and are 
sure to take the wrong time, as well as the 
wrong way, of doing things. Eeligion is cer- 
tainly not chargeable with all the opposition 
snch men have to encounter. But, on the other 
hand, much of the cjuiet which professors enjoy, 
is owing to a false prudence, and a dastardly, 
time-serving inactivity. They will not disturb 
the enemy. There is a lion in the way, and 
they fear to rouse him. The conscientious and 
devoted Christian, who will, at all hazards, do 
his duty, vindicating truth, and exposing error, 
standing fast to the commandment of his God, 
reproving sin, restraining vice, and laboring to 
promote a living, active piety in all, can not 
escape the hatred, though he may command the 
respect of the ungodly. 

With the hatred of the world, the Christian 
professor may expect to meet its reproach. 
His motives will often be misconstrued, and his 
actions misrepresented. Men will catch at his 
halting, and exult over his infirmities. The 
infirmities of brethren will be laid at his door, 
and laid at the door of his religion. Should 
14 



170 



THE CHRISTIAX PROEESSIOX. 



lie fail himself, his religion, more than his 
failure, Avill be his reproach. He may not 
exactly hear himself called a hypocrite ; but 
he daily meets with those who affect to count 
all religion hypocrisy. Should the Christian 
excel in virtuous and praiseworthy deeds — 
should his life be unimpeachable ; there is some 
other way of accounting for it, than by the 
influence of his religion : and it is very saga- 
ciously suspected, that the world does not know 
all about the man. Thus he is continually 
reminded that he is in an enemy's country, and 
that he lives in the midst of those that hate his 
Saviour. The reproaches of those who reproach 
his Saviour and his God fall on him. His soul is 
amono; lions— amono; them that are set on fire : 
even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears 
and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. 

This becomes strikingly apparent, if Chris- 
tians make anything like a decided movement 
in opposition to the cherished vices of the 
world. Should, for example. Christians in their 
place, and other citizens under the influence of 
Christian principles, attempt the reformation 



OPPOSITION FROM FRIENDS. 



171 



of community from existing evils, such as 
intemperance, Sabbath-desecration, or profane 
swearing — should they endeavor to arrest the 
career of a nation^s wickedness, and save it 
from the disorganizing principles of a lawless 
infidelity and an unbridled licentiousness, and 
avert the wrathful judgments of the Governor 
of the universe ; they are charged with doing 
from the worst, what is done from the purest 
motives. They are turning the world upside 
down; uniting Church and State; aiming at 
the subversion of the liberties of the people; 
striving to re-establish the dominion of priest- 
craft I And every member of the Church who 
stands up to his work, must come in for his 
share of the reproach. 

Sometimes the Christian has to encounter the 
hatred and reproach of near relatives and inti- 
mate friends, for the cause of Christ. This is 
a most trying cross. The hatred and reproach 
of the meanest are unpleasant. To a mild and 
pacific spirit, (and such, pre-eminently, is the 
Christian spirit,) the ill-will of the lowest and 
remotest of the human race, is very undesirable : 



172 THE CHEISTIA^ PROFESSION. 

bnt when it comes home to the circle of our 
dail J intercourse — of onr family connection — 
and especially of onr domestic group, it is tor- 
turing, and calculated to put our faith to the 
most trying test. In such cases, often, not only 
are the most tender affections of the heart 
assailed, hut the opposition is fiercer, more 
unrestrained, and more implacable. A brother 
offended is harder to be won than a strong 
city.'' In many ages, as our Sayiour foretold^ 
the brother has deliyered up the brother to 
death, and the father the child, and children 
their parents. Though, happily, in our country^ 
the law protects from yiolence, and scenes of 
this character can not occur, the wrath and 
objurgation of near friends, on account of 
religion, haye to be met, with sufficient fre 
quency to remind us that the law of Christ 
is still applicable and worthy of the consider- 
ation of his disciples: If any man come to me, 
and hate not, (that is, loye less than me.) his 
father, and mother, and wife, and children, and 
brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, 
he can not be my disciple." 



TRIALS rilOM BRETHREX IX THE CHURCH. 173 

Sects and parties in the Cliurcli ; selfish, 
perverse, contentious, untractable brethren ; 
brethren prone to envv, jealousy, suspicion, 
evil-surmisings, and evil-speakings ; brethren 
.prone to anger, and subject to various infirmi- 
ties and unlovely eccentricities, are also a source 
of no little inconvenience and trial to the 
Christian in his profession. It must needs be 
that ofienses come. There necessarily is imper- 
fection in the Church, and with that imper- 
fection, much that is annovino' and trvino^. 
Besides that bad men. self-deceivers, and hypo- 
crites find their vay into the visible Church, 
the best of men have their infirmities ; and 
every man who joins the Church, however 
sincere and excellent, should bear in mind, that 
whatever good he may. by the grace of God, 
brino; into the Church with him. he vet con- 
tributes his quota to the common stock of 
infirmities therein: and should lay out his 
accounts to meet with trials of his faith and 
patience, even in his intercourse with those who 
are holy brethren and partakers of the heavenly 
calling. And in the trials and difficulties, the 



174 



THE CHRISTIAX PROFESSION. 



contentions, strifes, and di^isions, tlie dishonors 
and reverses of the Clinrcli, as well as in tlie 
backslidings, falls, and apostasies of her mem- 
bers, he must expect to take a painful interest, 
and meet with what is afflictive and grievous. 

The Christian, in maintaining his profession, 
is often ol3liged. by a sense of duty, to take an 
unpopular stand — not only unpopular with the 
world, but unpopular with brethren of a time- 
serving and worldly spirit, and with those, (^and 
they are a very large portion of men in every 
community.) u'ho do not take the trouble to 
think, but passively glide on in ihe current of 
popular opinion. When the reflecting Christian 
is constrained to take such a stand, he may 
expect opposition, not only from the world, but 
from brethren. He may find himself misunder- 
stood and misrepresented, and charged with 
folly, and assailed with raillery, sneers, and 
reproaches, by brethren. In his efforts to do 
good, to oppose popular errors, and fashionable 
sins, and sinful amusements, or to awaken 
interest and to rouse to action in some import- 
ant enterprise — perhaps of vital interest to tht* 



TEMPTATIONS OF SATAX. 175 

Eedeemer's cause — lie may find that lie has to 
contend with the passions, prejudices, and selfish 
interests of brethren, as well as of other men, 
and to deplore that he is bafiied and disap- 
pointed by those who should have been helpers. 
And, covered with ill-will, derision and abuse, 
grieved and vexed, his only relief may be in 
commending his cause to God. under the testi- 
mony of a good conscience, and the assurance of 
divine approval. 

To all this I will briefly add, that the Christ- 
ian, in maintaining his profession, has to contend 
with the temptations of Satan. Many will tell 
you with a sneer and a look of superior wisdom, 
that there is no Devil— no tempter but a man^s 
own heart. But they have never learned to 
talk so from the Bible. How will such explain 
Christ's temptations, who had no sinful heart to 
tempt him? How did Christ, consistently with 
the principle that there is no personal De^^.1, 
address the Jews in such language as the fol- 
lowing : '-Ye are of your father the Devil ; and 
the works of your father ye will do. He was a 
murderer from the beginning, and abode not in 



176 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

the tratli : "because tliere is no tnitli in liim. 
Wlien lie speaketli a lie, lie speaketli of his own; 
for lie is a liar and the father of it And how 
do the apostles tell us of the prince of the 
power of the air, the spirit that ruleth in the 
children of disohedience'' — the god of this 
world, who hath blinded the minds of them that 
helieve not. lest the light of the glorious Gospel 
of God should shine into them I'^ How do they 
express their fears, lest Satan should get the 
advantage'' over us — lest, as '*he beguiled 
Eve through his subtlety, so our minds should 
be corrupted from the simplicity that is in 
Christ'' — and their hopes, that the Lord Jesus 
will bruise him under our feet shortly I How 
do they warn, " Be sober : be vigilant : for your 
adversary the De^-il. as a roaring lion, walketh 
about, seeking whom he may devour 1" Put 
on the whole armor of God — for we wrestle not 
against flesh and blood, but against principalities 
and powers — against the rulers of the darkness 
of this world — against spiritual wickedness in 
high places." 

Xo I there is a Devil, and that devil is a 



TEMPTATIONS OF SATAN. 



177 



tempter, and a bitter and uncompromising 
enemy to the Christian profession — full of 
devices, powerful, furious, sleepless and un- 
tiring — and supported hj legions as malignant 
as himself. He delights to assail the Christian 
with his fiery darts. He avails himself of all 
the advantages furnished him by our indwelling 
depravity, and by all that is tempting and en- 
snarino; in the world. He takes advantao-e of 
our circumstances, and of surrounding tempta- 
tions, to excite our appetites and inflame our 
passions. He suggests impure, debasing, blas- 
phemous thoughts, skeptical doubts, rebellious 
feelings. He strives to draw away and distract 
the mind in devotional exercises ; to stir up 
doubts and fears, awaken dreadful apprehen- 
sions, and lead us to despair ; and at other times 
prompts to pride, self-righteousness, self-wisdom, 
self-sufficiency, and carnal security. He often 
suggests low thoughts of God ; hard thoughts 
of his providence ; mistrust in his Word, and 
objections to its truths ; many sinful expedients ; 
worldly, carnal, vexing and distracting thoughts ; 

and even, at times, desperate purposes. He 
15 



178 



THE CHPvISTIAX PROFESSION. 



is tlie more dangerous enemy, because un- 
seen : and never is lie better pleased tban when 
be gets men to deny liis existence and influence. 
He seeks tlie ruin of all men. but be o^es a 
grudge to every man wbo openly espouses tbe 
cause of Cbrist — and Yrill throw all possible 
difficulties in the way of his profession. 

My friend, in reviewing tbe duties and trials 
of this profession, you may be ready to exclaim. 
Who is sufficient for these things?'' But let me 
direct you to tbe assurance of tbe Saviour. My 
Di^ace is sufficient for thee : for mv strenc^'th is 
made perfect in weakness.'' Take the Lord 
Jesus at his word. Be encouraged to enter and 
continue tbe conflict. Be strong in the grace 
which is in Christ Jesus. He will support and 
reward you. If you suifer with him, you shall 
also reign with him. Know whom you have 
believed, and cherish the persuasion that he is 
able to keep that which you have committed to 
him, to that day. 

But rest not in an inactive profession: one 
wbicb is attended with no trials, no difficulties, 
no conflicts : one in which the professor is at 



NO REASON FOR DESPONDING. 179 

ease in Zion. Oli ! how did the Apostle weep 
over such ! For many walk, of whom I have 
told you often, and now tell you even weeping, 
that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ ; 
whose end is destruction, whose god is their 
belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who 
mind earthly things." To be carnally-minded 
is death ! He that soweth to the flesh, shall of 
the flesh reap corruption. 

In my next, I will endeavor to guide your 
mind to the supports and consolations of this 
profession. 

Yours, 



LETTEK XIII. 



THE SUPPOKTS AND CONSOLATIONS OF THE 
CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

My Deae Friend: — 

The Cliristian Profession has its trials, but it 
also has its blessedness. It has its labors, its 
toils, its conflicts ; but it has also its rest. It 
has its cross ; but it has also its crown. That 
Saviour who so honestly warned the multitudes 
of self-denial, and hardship, and suffering, in 
his service, encouraged them also with the most 
aflectionate assurances of rest and peace : " Come 
unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, 
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon 
you, and learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly 
in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls ; 
for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." 



SUPPORTS AND CONSOLATIONS. 181 

But it is not a merely nominal profession to 
which this promise is given ; but a profession, 
which proceeds from a true and living faith — 
that faith which really comes to Christ as a 
Saviour, teaches us our obligations to him, works 
by love, purifies the heart, and overcomes the 
world, and leads us to conduct ourselves as the 
disciples and subjects of the Eedeemer. 

This is the profession of whose duties, neces- 
sity and trials, I have treated ; and there is no 
true consolation in any other. 

The word of God speaks not one word of peace 
to the merely nominal professor. On the con- 
trary, it denounces his way as hard, and pro- 
claims his end destruction : Tremble, ye 
women that are at ease ; be troubled, ye careless 
ones ; strip ye, and make ye bare, and gird sack- 
cloth upon your loins.^^ Woe to them that are 
at ease in Zion ?^ " Wherefore the Lord said. 
Forasmuch as this people draw near me with 
the mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but 
have removed their hearts from me, and their 
fear toward me is taught by the precept of 
men ; therefore, behold I will proceed to do a 



182 



THE christia:^^ profession. 



marvelous work among this people, a marvel- 
lous work and a wonder/^ It is a marvelous 
work and a wonder in the way of judgment. 
The wrath of God will be insupportable on all 
impenitent sinners ; but it will be tremendously 
so on hypocritical and false professors. In- 
somuch that amid all the displays of his omnip- 
otent vengeance, tlieir destruction will excite the 
astonishment of the wonder-stricken universe. 
God^s providential government of the world por- 
tends as much. On no nation did he pour such 
terrible wrath for their sins as he did on his 
covenant people. It would seem from the words 
of the Saviour, that there is a special place in 
hell for the torment of hypocrites : The Lord 
of that servant, shall cut him asunder, and 
appoint him his portion with hypocrites ; there 
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'^ 

The Christian Profession is regarded by many 
as a gloomy thing — a tissue of awful duties, and 
disagreeable self-denials, and somber thoughts, 
and doleful feelings, without any enjoyment. 
And it is true, that it has its solemn duties and 
responsibilities, its self-denials disagreeable to 



SEXSE OE ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD. 183 



flesli and blood, and its serious tliouglits and 
feelings ; but it has also its consolations and its 
blessedness — consolations and a blessedness in- 
conceivably superior to those of earth. In wear- 
ing the Saviour^s yoke a man finds rest — rest 
to his soul. 

I wish now to place before you some of these 
considerations, which support and console the 
Christian, and render him happy, amidst all the 
toils and trials of his profession. 

I. And here I would name first. The evidence 
which his profession gives of his acceptance in 
Christ. With the heart man believeth unto 
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is 
made unto salvation. Men may falsely profess 
religion, yet it is only in the way of making 
this profession that they can have evidence of 
their acceptance in Christ. In no other way can 
they have evidence that their faith and repent- 
ance are sincere. While they neglect this pro- 
fession, the question of their union to Christ, 
and of their being partakers of his saving grace, 
must at least be involved in doubt, if not abso- 
lutely decided in the negative. But when a 



184 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION, 

man sincerely makes this profession, he adopts 
the very means which the Saviour appoints to 
attest the sincerity of his faith and the reality 
of his union to himself. He thereby publicly 
and formally identifies himself with the Lord 
Jesus as his Saviour and King — publicly and 
solemnly joins himself to the Lord in a covenant 
well-ordered in all things and sure, and that 
shall never be broken nor forgotten. The bap- 
tism he receives is " unto him a sign and seal of 
the covenant of grace — of his ingrafting into 
Christ — of regeneration, of remission of sins, 
and of his giving up unto God through Jesus 
Christ, to walk in newness of life.'' The bread 
and the wine — the communion of the body and 
blood of the Saviour — are a seal of the bene- 
fits of his sacrifice to his spiritual nourishment 
and growth in grace, and a bond and pledge of 
communion with the Saviour. In the very act, 
he engages to be the Lord's, gives himself away 
to the Saviour, feeds upon him by faith, lays 
hold on his righteousness and grace, on pardon 
and eternal life ; and doing so, he experiences 
the blessedness of the man whose iniquity is 



SENSE OF ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD. 185 



pardoned and wliose sin is covered — finds peace 
witli God, obtains "boldness of access, has the 
testimony of the Spirit hearing witness with his 
spirit that he is born again, and rejoices in hope 
of the glory of God. A feeling of identifica- 
tion with the Saviour takes possession of his 
soul, he is in a new world, has taken citizenship 
in the commonwealth of Israel, and membership 
in the family of God ; he stands in new rela- 
tions to God, and to the universe — all things 
are his, and he is Christ's, and Christ is God's. 

This sense of acceptance and hope of salvation 
in Christ, which attends a public consecration of 
oneself to the Saviour, the true Christian would 
not exchange for ten thousand worlds. As a 
formal question, he may not be able to decide 
the matter of his acceptance as a thing past all 
doubt and peradventure, yet in the very sealing 
of his faith by his profession, there is the peace 
and joy of believing — a peace that passeth all 
understanding, a joy unspeakable and full of 
glory. 

To this peace and joy the man who refuses to 
confess Christ must forever remain a stranger. 



186 



THE CHRISTIAN PEOIESSIOX. 



11. The autliority and approval of God. the 
yery nature of tlie duties implied, and the claims 
and love of the Saviour, make the Christian 
Profession a rcasonaUe and deliglitful service. 

The Christian in this profession only takes 
upon him a yoke vrhich he can not refuse with- 
out the greatest guilt, and submits to a Friend 
whose sovereignty he can not reject without the 
blackest ingratitude. He pursues a course in 
which he will most certainly meet with the 
divine approval, and out of which he would just 
as certainly incur the divine wrath. God has 
said of his Son. I have set my King upon my 
holy hill of Zion : and the decree is gone forth 
that " every knee shall bow to Him. and every 
tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 
to the glory of God the Father ; and with the 
decree goes forth the proclamation. Kiss ye 
the Son. lest he be angry and ye perish from the 
way, when his wrath is kindled but a little.'" 
The Father considers himself dishonored by 
every refusal to do homage to his Son : and 
whoso refuses to obey and serve him — be it 
nation, kingdom, or individual — shall perish. 



FEELING IT A REASONABLE SERVICE. 187 

God can easily render happy those who submit, 
and miserable those who do not. 

Nothing can be more reasonable than the 
requirements of the Christian Profession. The 
law of Christ our King is just the law of our 
Maker, holy, just and good^^ — founded in 
our relations and adapted to the constitution of 
our natures — suited to our new circumstances 
as under a dispensation of mercy, and enforced 
by delightful sanctions. What does He require 
of us but to love the Lord our God with all our 
heart, and soul, and mind, and strength, and to 
love our neighbor as ourselves '? What, but to 
do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with 
our God ? It is true that he requires of all his 
subjects repentance for all their sins. But, is 
not this a reasonable service, due from offending 
creatures to their Creator, and is it not implied 
in their return to obeddence ? He also requires 
of them an habitual and implicit confidence in 
himself, as the Captain of their Salvation, and 
a humble reliance on his merits and grace. But 
does he not deserve this confidence ? Can any- 
thing be more reasonable than that creatures 



188 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



destitute of merit and resources of tlieir own 
should rely on tlie merits and grace of a surety 
and a Saviour so T^'ortliy and so mighty ? And 
should they not count it a priAulege. an acknow- 
ledgment, and a service, to be rendered with 
gratitude and joy? He requires of his subjects 
to exercise the mild and placid virtues of love, 
good-will, kindness, compassion, meekness, gen- 
tleness, forbearance and forgiveness. And is 
there not a blissfulness in the very play of these 
aflPections, in witnessing their benign effects, and 
in receiving back the grateful reciprocations of 
them from our fellow men ? while the very 
exercise, and effects, and returns of the contrary 
passions — fierce, turbulent, and malign — are 
a spring of inward torture and anguish. Christ 
also requires us to set our affections on things 
above and not on things beneath, and to lay up 
our treasures in heaven. And do they not pos- 
sess a decided advantage, who are thus elevated 
above the reach of earthly calamities ? He also 
enjoins us to keep his ordinances, and wait upon 
him in reading and hearing his word, in prayer 
and the sacraments. But these are the means 



CONSTRAINING POWER OF LOVE OF CHRIST. 189 



wliicli he uses to bless his subjects, and to per- 
fect and prepare them for heaven, by rendering 
them conformable to that just, holy and good 
law, to which all should be subject and by 
which all shall be judged. 

But when we consider what the King of Zion 
is to his subjects ; what he has done and is 
doing for them ; the obligations under which he 
lays them, the claims he has on their love and 
obedience, verily his commandments cannot be 
grievous. His yoke is lined with love. It is 
the government of our best friend : that friend 
who died for us — the just for the unjust — that 
he might bring us to God. His love may well 
constrain our obedience, and his mercies prompt 
us to present our bodies, ^dllingly, a living sac- 
rifice. The love that prompted him to lay down 
his life for his subjects, prompts him to stand 
by and sustain them in all their duties and 
trials, and, in the end, crown them with a great 
reward. We serve a benefactor with pleasure, 
and it is a gratification to do for him what 
would be even a burden if done for another. 
But such a benefactor ! Can his yoke be any- 



190 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

thing else but easy ; and his burden anything 
else but light I 

III. The trials of the Christian Profession, 
which render it so formidable to flesh and blood, 
are in reality, after all, light, short, honorable, 
and in their issue, glorious. 

They are light in comparison with what the 
Saviour has endured for his people, and with the 
weight of glory which they are to receive; and 
light, in comparison with what they deserve 
and with what they shall bear, if they refuse 
his service. What are inward conflicts, what 
are temptations, reproaches and persecutions — ■ 
counterbalanced as they are with the favor and 
peace of God — in comparison with the horrors 
of that state where God has cast off* forever, and 
clean forgotten to be gTacious, and in the heat 
of his wrath has shut up his tender mercies? 

These trials are short, in comparison with that 
endless woe that awaits the enemies of Jesus, 
and with that eternal happiness, which is held 
in reversion for those who serve him and suffer 
for his sake. These light afflictions are but for 
a moment — and the suffering of this present 



TRIALS HONORABLE AND REWARDED. 191 

time is not worthy to be compared with the 
glory which shall be revealed in us.'^ 

These trials are honorable. Suffering for 
Christ^s sake, we suffer in the best cause and in 
the best company ; the cause of truth, and 
holiness, and mercy ; a cause deeply interesting 
to the rational universe, dear to the heart of 
God, and intimately connected with the glory of 
his great name. The company in which we 
suffer, is that of Jesus Christ himself, the chief 
and the brightest of martyrs, and that of holy 
apostles and prophets, and myriads of others, of 
whom the world was not worthy. It is an honor 
and a joy to suffer with such; Blessed are ye,^^ 
says the Saviour, " Blessed are ye, when men 
shall revile you and persecute you, and shall 
say all manner of evil against you falsely for 
my sake ! Eejoice and be exceeding glad ; for 
so persecuted they the prophets which were 
before you.^^ 

These trials are glorious in their issue. If 
we suffer with Jesus, we shall reign with him. 
He pronounces all his suffering servants blessed, 
and exhorts them to rejoice and be exceeding 



192 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

glad, for great is their reward in heaven. ''Be 
faithful unto the death, and I will give thee a 
crown of life " Our light afflictions, which 
endure hut for a moment, work out for us a far 
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.'' 
Follow the tempted, suftering, reproached and 
persecuted subjects of Christ into the eternal 
world ; compare their condition there with their 
present circumstances, and with the wretched 
state of those who have rejected the yoke of 
Jesus ; and stumble no longer at the trials of 
the Christian Profession. '* What are these which 
are arrayed in white rohes ? and whence came 
they ? These are they which came out of great 
tribulation, and have washed their robes, and 
have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 
Therefore are they before the throne of God, 
and serve him day and night in his temple ; 
and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell 
among them. They shall hunger no more, 
neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun 
light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb 
which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed 
them, and shall lead them unto living fountains 



FUTURE REWARD. 



193 



of waters ; and God shall wipe away all tears 
from tlieir eyes/^ 

With this view of the comparative lightness, 
short continuance, honorableness, and glorious 
issue of the trials of his profession, the Christian 
may well ^'gird up the loins of his mind, and 
be sober, and hope to the end for the grace 
which shall be brought unto him at the revela- 
tion of Jesus Christ.'^ 

My friend, with these considerations I leave 
you for the present, hoping in my next to pre- 
sent you others no less encouraging. In the 
mean time weigh those presented, prayerfully ; 
and if you have never yet taken upon you the 
yoke of Jesus, be encouraged to take it ; and if 
you have, be emboldened in your profession. 

Yours, 



16 



LETTER XIV. 



THE SUPPORTS AND CONSOLATIONS OF THE 
CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

[Conclusion.] 

My Dear Friend: — 

It was no vain assurance whicli Jesus gave, 
when lie said, " Take my yoke upon you, and 
learn of me; and ye shall find rest unto your 
souls; for my yoke is easy and my burden is 
light. In my last your attention was turned 
to several considerations, showing, that the yoke 
of Jesus is easy, and his burden light. In this 
Letter I shall present a few additional consider- 
ations on this point, and then close the whole 
subject of these Letters. And, 

IV. My fourth consideration is, That the true 



ASSURANCE OF SUPPORT. 



195 



follower of Clirist, lias the assurance of support 
in all his duties and trials, so that he shall be 
enabled to perform the one with acceptance, and 
endure the other with triumph. The assurance 
of success renders the most difficult undertak- 
ings easy, and the most weighty burdens light. 
It matters not how arduous our duties, if our 
strength be adequate for them. It matters not 
what our Master lays upon us, if he makes us 
able to bear it ; nor what our difficulties and 
trials; if He go along with us, and help and 
strengthen, and defend and uphold us, and never 
leave nor forsake us until we get safely and 
honorably through. Xay, the greater the labor 
and the more severe the trial, and the more 
formidable the danger ; the more honorable the 
success, the nobler the triumph, and the sweeter 
the rest. Hence, every generous mind loves 
great and difficult undertakings, where there is 
a probability of success ; and the mind loves to 
dwell on, and the tongue to recite, whatever in 
labor and suffering was great and painful. 

Well, the King of Zion calls his subjects to 
difficult duties and painful trials, in subduing 



196 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

the flesh, the devil, and the world. Bat his 
grace is sufiicient for them, and his strength is 
made perfect in their weakness. He never 
leaves them nor forsakes them. He vouchsafes 
his presence to cheer and animate them, and 
his assistance to strengthen and uphold. As 
their day, so shall their strength be. His lan- 
guage is, " Fear thou not, for I am with thee ; 
be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will 
strengthen thee ; yea, I will help thee ; yea, I 
will uphold thee with the right hand of my 
righteousness.^^ Then is it their privilege to be 
strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. 
Their faith and their cause link them in with 
Omnipotence, and enable them to draw on its 
resources. They can say, " Our help is in the 
name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 
They can do all things through Christ who 
strengthened them. If pressed down by the 
weight of their afflictions and labors, they can 
hear him saying, " Cast thy burden on the Lord ; 
he shall sustain thee.'' If dispirited by their 
weakness or fewness, their despised and forsaken 
lot, or their apparent want of success, he is near, 



ASSURANCE OF SUPPORT — PROMISES. 197 



and says, " Lo, I am with you always — I am 
in the midst of you to bless you/^ If, under the 
annoying presence and distressing prevalence 
of indwelling sin, they are ready to cry, like 
one chained to a dead body, 0 wretched man 
that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body 
of this death ? — the assurance of deliverance 
enables them to shout, Thanks unto God who 
giveth us the victory through Jesus Christ I 

In the face of infirmities, reproaches, necessi- 
ties, persecutions and distresses for Christ's sake, 
they can say, I will go in the strength of the 
Lord God ; I will make mention of thy righteous- 
ness, even of thine only/' And passing through 
them, though forsaken by earthly friends, and 
stripped of earthly resources, still may they sing, 
" Nevertheless, I am continually with thee ; 
thou boldest me by the right hand ; I shall 
never be moved ; thou wilt guide me by thy 
counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. 
Though I fall, I shall arise ; though I sit in 
darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. 
Though I walk through the valley and shadow 
of death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art 



198 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

with me ; tliy rod and thy staff, they comfort 
me." 

The Lord Jesus proportions his consolations 
and strength to the trials and labors of his sub- 
jects. As the sufferings of Christ abound in 
us, so our consolation aboundeth by Christ." 

In consideration of this support, what is there 
to hinder any subject of Zion's King from say- 
ing with the apostle, " Most gladly, therefore, 
will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of 
Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take 
pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in neces- 
sities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ^s 
sake ; for when I am weak, then am I strong." 

V. Being found in the way of Christ's com- 
mandments and ordinances, and honestly en- 
deavoring to keep them — and being, at the 
same time, a subject of his kingdom, and a 
member of the household of faith, the profess- 
ing Christian has a right to the privileges and 
blessings of that kingdom and household — a 
most perfect and absolute claim on the fulfill- 
ment of all Christ's promises, and is warranted 
to put in that claim with boldness at a throne 



CONFIDENCE IN PLEADING THE PEOMISES. 199 



of grace. The privilege of drawing near, in 
every situation, to a prayer-hearing God, with 
the hope and assurance of being answered in 
mercy and grace, is a privilege full of comfort 
and relief. But that man can not do so with- 
out presumption, who endeavors not to walk in 
all the ordinances and commandments of God 
blameless. Oh ! it was a solemn and a fearful 
truth uttered by the Psalmist, when he said, 
" If I regard sin in my heart, the Lord will not 
hear me.^^ That man who draws near to our 
holy Lord God, allowing himself in any one 
known sin, or in the neglect of any one known 
duty, is a mocking hypocrite. He must be sadly 
deceived, if his own conscience does not condemn 
him ; and he certainly can not plead the pro- 
mises in the assurance of faith. Secret misgiv- 
ings will intrude in his presumptuous approaches ; 
and terrible is the thought, that, if a man's own 
heart condemn him, God is greater than his 
heart, and knoweth all things. 

It is then an obvious truth, that that man 
takes an unwarranted freedom, who asks for 
the blessings, the help, the support and pro- 



200 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

tection of Christ's kingdom and houseliold, who 
at the same time refuses to take his yoke upon 
him and to submit to the government of his 
house and kingdom. It is daring presumption, 
as well as a gross inconsistency, for him to say 
to the world by his conduct, " I am not of 
Christ's family and kingdom '' and yet ask of 
God the privileges and blessings which belong 
exclusively to that kingdom and family, and are 
promised only to its members. 

But the honest Christian professor belongs to 
this kingdom and family. He is the very man 
who does not regard sin in his heart, but who 
strives to walk in all the ordinances of God 
blameless — the very man to whom the pro- 
mises are made, and who can draw near with a 
true heart and in the full assurance of faith, 
with pure conscience and clean hands, whose 
prayer the Lord will not turn away, and from 
whom he will withhold no good thing. His is 
all the blessedness of the privilege which the 
apostle sets forth in the following words : " See- 
ing then that we have so great a High-priest, 
that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son 



PEAYER — aLOEIATIOX IN GOD. 201 

of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we 
have not an high-priest which can not be touched 
with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in 
all points tempted like as we are, yet without 
sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the 
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and 
find grace to help in time of need.'^ Here the 
Christian may dismiss all his anxieties, and 
forget all his afllictions and troubles, and trust- 
ing in God, commit to him his way, and cast on 
him the whole burden of his cares. My times 
are in thy hand.^^ What time I am afraid I 
will trust in thee. In God I will praise his 
word ; in God I have put my trust ; I will not 
fear what flesh can do to me.^^ ^- Thou art 
my hiding-place ; thou shalt preserve me from 
trouble ; thou shalt compass me about with 
songs of deliverance." For this shall every 
one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when 
thou mayest be found ; surely in the floods of 
great waters, they shall not come nigh unto 
him.'^ God is our refuge and strength, a very 
present help in trouble. Therefore will not we 
fear, thourfi the earth be removed, and thouD;h 
17 



202 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



tlie mountains be carried into the midst of the 
sea ; tliougli tlie waters thereof roar and be 
troubled, though the mountains shake with the 
swelling thereof. There is a river, the streams 
whereof make glad the city of our God, the 
holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. 
God is in the midst of her ; she shall not be 
moved ; God shall help her, and that right 
early.' ^ Be careful for nothing, but in all 
things by prayer and supplication, with thanks- 
giving, let your requests be made known to 
God ; and the peace of God, which passeth all 
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds 
through Christ Jesus. 

Finally ; the result — the combined effect — of 
all that is embraced in the Christian Profession, 
is, in many ways,, peace and blessedness. This 
is evidently taught by the Saviour when he 
said, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give 
unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto 
vou. Let not vour heart be troubled, neither 
let it be afraid.^' Mark to whom the Saviour 
made this promise: it was to his disciples. 
Mark, also, the conditions on which it rests. 



THE saviour's PEACE. 



203 



They are presented in what our Saviour had 
said immediately before: He that hath my 
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that 
loveth me; and he that loveth me, shall be 
loved of my Father, and I will love him, and 
will manifest myself to him. If a man love 
me, he will keep my words ; and my Father 
will love him, and we will come unto him, and 
make our abode with him. He that loveth me 
not, keepeth not my sayings.^' It is, then, to 
the disciple of Jesus — the man that loves him 
and keeps his commandments— that this peace 
is promised ; and it flows from the keeping of 
the Saviour's words, or rather, from that fellow- 
ship with the Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ, 
which is enjoyed in and through the keeping 
of the Saviour's words. *' As many as walk 
according to this rule, peace be on them, and 
mercy; and upon the Israel of God." 

In the very act of affectionately obeying 
Christ, and confessing his name, and wearing 
his yoke ~ in the very performance of the 
duties and exercise of the graces of this pro- 
fession — in that sense of acceptance, and that 



204 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

experience of divine supports, which the Chris- 
tian enjoys — in that pleading of the promises, 
and that waiting upon God in the ordinances of 
his grace — that diligent pursuit of holiness — 
those outgoings of the affections to Grod — that 
careful observance of his law — that practice of 
righteousness — that walking with God — that 
growth in grace — those labors of love, and that 
patience of hope: in all these things is peace; 
peace with God ; peace of conscience ; peace in 
all the feelings of the soul; peace in the con- 
cerns and relations of life ; the peace of assu- 
rance, and hope, and joy. " The work of 
righteousness is peace ; and the effect of right- 
eousness, quietness and assurance forever.'^ It 
is in the exercise of the graces, and in the per- 
formance of the duties of the Christian profes- 
fession, that "the spirit beareth witness with 
our spirit, that we are the children of God. 
And, if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and 
joint heirs with Christ It is in the exercise 
of these graces, and the performance of these 
duties, that the Christian can look with con- 
tempt on the reproaches, misrepresentations, 



PEACE — HOPE — ASSURANCE. 205 

and impugnings of men, and say, " My rejoicing 
is this: the testimony of my conscience, tliat in 
simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly 
wisdom, but by the grace of God, I have my 
conversation in the world. 

And while the Christian conscientiously wears 
the Kedeemer's yoke, cultivating the graces and 
duties of his profession, it is his privilege, in the 
midst of infirmities, sins, and shortcomings, to 
draw consolation from the gracious truth, (min- 
istering consolation only to the conscientious 
followers of Christ) : If any man sin, we 
have an advocate with the Father; Jesus Christ, 
the righteous, who is the propitiation for our 
sins and, notwithstanding his infirmities and 
shortcomings, to enjoy still the assurance of 
God^s love, and entertain still that hope which 
maketh not ashamed ; that hope, which, fixing 
on the rock Jesus, fast by the throne of God, is 
an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast. 

Thus the flesh is mortified with the affections 
and lusts ; and the war of conflicting and 
unhallowed passions ends in peaceful triumphs 
of heavenly affections. And the Christian rises 



206 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

above the calamities, and cares, and strifes of 
life; buries bis selfisbness and resentments in 
good-will to men, and in doing good ; and loses 
bis cares, and anxieties, and vexing tbougbts, 
in peaceful resignation to bis beavenly Fatber's 
will, and in tbe brigbtening bope of beaven. 

Surely, all tbis will bave a bappy influence 
in preparing bim for tbe momentous events of 
deatb and judgment. And it is on tbe bed of 
deatb — it is amid tbe solemnities of judgment 
— it is in tbe realities of tbe eternal world, 
tbat we sball bave tbe fullest manifestations of 
tbe blessedness of tbe Cbristian Profession. 

And now, my dear Friend, I must bring 
tbese letters to a close. And, in conclusion, 
permit me to entreat you to consider prayer- 
fully, in tbe fear of God, and in tbe ligbt of 
eternity, tbat profession, tbe nature, duties, 
importance, trials, supports, and rewards of 
wbicb I bave endeavored to set before you. 
And be entreated, by tbe mercies of God, to 
present your body a living sacrifice, boly, 
acceptable to God, wbicb is your reasonable 
service; and be not conformed to tbe world, 



POLLY AND DANGER OF DELAY. 



207 



but be transformed, by the renewing of your 
mind, tbat you may prove experimentally what is 
tbat good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. 

If you have never made tbis profession, delay 
it no longer. ISo longer regard it with indiffer- 
ence ; no longer make yourself easy in the 
neglect of it by those excuses in which you have 
hitherto rested. They will be of no avail in 
the day in which God shall take away your 
soul, and call you to stand at his judgment 
bar. And you know not the day nor the hour 
of this fearful summons. The rejection of the 
Christian Profession is the rejection of Christ ; 
and long before your summons into the eternal 
world, the Holy Spirit, grieved by your course, 
may abandon you forever. The longer you 
delay, the greater will be the difficulty, and the 
weaker will you be to surmount it. Eest not, 
then, in the delusive hope, that you will find a 
more convenient season — that, after you reach 
more mature years— at least, in the decline of 
life — at farthest, in old age — you will take 
your stand as a Christian. Beside the base- 
ness of putting the Saviour off with the refuse 



208 THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

of your existence — the feeble services of a 
spent constitution, worn out in tlie service of 
the world — beside the baseness of such a pur- 
pose, the hope is utterly delusive. Those years 
may never come ; or, if they do, increased cares 
and responsibilities, habits confirmed in worldli- 
ness and indifference as to the claims of the 
soul ; habits of prayerlessness and sin ; habits of 
neglect of duty ; worldly connections, enfeebled 
powers, and a thousand other things, may have 
placed you at a hopeless distance from the 
kingdom of God, ? nd the Holy Spirit have left 
you, under the fearful sentence, He is joined 
TO HIS IDOLS; LET HIM ALONE. Few men, 
living under the sound of the Gospel, ever join 
the Church after the meridian of life. 

If you have made this profession — then be 
stimulated to the practice of its duties, and to 
the practical proof of its consolations and blessed- 
ness. Be not conformed to the world ; but be 
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that 
you may prove what is that good, and acceptable 
and perfect will of God. Walk worthy of the 
vocation wherewith you are called. Put off con- 



INCREASED DILIGENCE IN DL^TY. 209 



cerning tlie former conyersation the old man whicli 
is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and 
be renewed in the spirit of your mind ; and put 
on the new man, which after God is created in 
righteousness and true holiness. Prove yourself 
whether you are in the faith ; and be not con- 
tent with present attainments ; but forgetting 
the things which are behind, and reaching forth 
unto those things which are before, press toward 
the mark for the prize of the high calling of 
God in Christ Jesus. Be not comparing your- 
self with others, and contenting yourself with 
the average of the amount of piety in the 
Church ; but try yourself by the law of Christ, 
by his example, and the example of his holy 
apostles. Let the graces of the Christian Pro- 
fession be in you and abound ; so that you may 
be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowl- 
edge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
Eemember, none of us liveth to himself, and no 
man dieth to himself; but whether we live, we 
live to the Lord ; and whether we die, we die to 
the Lord; whether, therefore, we live or die, we 
are the Lord^s. For to this end Christ both died. 



210 THE CHRISTIAN PROPESSION. 

and rose, and lives a new and glorious life in 
heaven, tliat lie might be Lord both of the dead 
and living. We are not our own; but are 
bought with a price, and bound to glorify God 
with our bodies and our spirits, which are his. 
There is no reason why we should not be as 
devoted in our profession as was the Apostle Paul. 

This profession is bound upon us by every 
consideration — by the authority of God ; by the 
love of the Saviour ; by its intrinsic excellence ; 
by the interests of truth and righteousness ; by 
all that is precious in our own immortal souls ; by 
the interests of the souls of others ; by the well- 
being of universal humanity ; by the example 
of the worthies of every age ; by the claims of 
eternity. 

It can not be slighted, neglected, or regarded 
with indifference, or dishonored by unbecoming 
deportment in it, without fearful peril. The 
rejection of its claims and obligations proves the 
heart to be in a state of desperate revolt against 
God — and woe to him who contends with his 
Maker ! 

A ruinous unbelief lies at the foundation of 



OBLIGATIONS — UNBELIEF. 211 

all indifference to this profession, and of all 
neglect of its duties ; and when we consider the 
issues pending, we may well wake up to the 
trumpet warning of the Apostle: Take heed, 
brethren, lest there he in any of you an evil 
heart of unbelief, in departing from the living 
God ?^ This is the root at which we must strike! 
A growing indifference to the Christian Pro- 
fession, tends to open infidelity, and total apos- 
tasy from God. 

Disqualification for membership in the Church, 
is disqualification for heaven. The New Testa- 
ment Church visible is called the kingdom of 
Heaven." It is that kingdom which the ^' God 
of heaven" has set up. Its principles are heav- 
enly and eternal — righteousness, and peace, 
and joy in the Holy Ghost" — the same with the 
principles of the kingdom as it is in heaven, 
and will be to all eternity ; only here imper- 
fectly, there perfectly developed. Hence the 
Apostle calls it a kingdom which can not be 
moved." The Jewish dispensation was taken 
down; other systems shall be shaken and 
removed ; but this can not be shaken, and shall 



212 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



remain. Tlie lieavens sliall pass a^av ^itli a 
great noise, tlie elements shall melt with, fer- 
vent heat, and tlie earth and the things which 
are therein, shall he burnt up ; but this king- 
dom shall stand. Freed from its present im- 
perfections, and with its Divine and eternal 
principles fully developed, it shall appear and 
live forever in glory. Hence the Apostle, writing 
to the Hebrew Christians, speaking of their 
present church state, speaks of it in terms appli- 
cable to heaven : " But ye are come unto Mount 
Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the 
heavenly Jerusalem, and unto an innumerable 
company of angels, to the general assembly and 
Church of the first-born, which are written in 
heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the 
spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus 
the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the 
blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things 
than that of Abel.'' The Church of God on 
earth, then, being in its principles identical with 
the Church above, is one kingdom with it ; the 
same kingdom, only in a different form as to its 
external administration : and being the same in 



UNFITNESS FOR HEAVEN. 213 

principle, takes the same name, " the kingdom 
of Heaven.^ ^ Tlie true members of it are ani- 
mated by tbe same principles wbicli animate tbe 
members of tbe Cburch. above ; only tbe former 
are yet imperfectly under tbeir power — the 
latter perfectly. It is one family, part in 
heaven, part on earth: " For this cause I bow 
my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and 
earth is named.'^ The Church on earth, then, 
being essentially one, in all its radical princi- 
ples, with the Church above, and being with it 
called the kingdom of Heaven,^^ a refusal to 
belong to it, is virtually a repudiation of heaven, 
and apostasy from it, an abandonment of heaven. 

As yet, the Church of God is in a compara- 
tively humble and obscure condition, and there 
is little that is attractive in her position. 
The majority of this world, and especially of 
its wealth and distinction, declines her pro- 
fession ; and much of it is decidedly hostile to 
it. But it shall not be always so. The Christ- 
ian profession is destined to become — and at no 
distant day — the profession of earth, the glory 



2U 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSIOX. 



and "boast of all lands. Tlie monntain of the 
Lord's lionse, shall be established in the top of 
the mountains, and shall be exalted above the 
hills : and all nations shall flow unto it." Zion 
shall arise and shine. l>ecause her light is come, 
and the glorr of the Lord has risen npon her, 
and the nations shall come to her light, and 
kings to the brightness of her rising. Unto 
Zion's King there is given a dominion, and a 
glory, and a kingdom, that all j)eople, nations 
and languages should serve him — an everlasting 
dominion that shall not pass away, and a king- 
dom that shall not be destroyed. Avowed sub- 
jection to Christ, and the observance of his 
institutions and laws, will be the rule of earth — 
and the neglect of the Christian Profession, the 
exception. 

But let us ascend higher. A glorious denoue- 
ment awaits the Church of Grod. This profession 
is to shine in the splendors of its own heaven to 
which it belong^s : And I saw a new heaven 
and a new earth : for the first heaven and the 
first earth were passed away ; and there was no 
more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new 



COMING GLORY OF THE CHURCH. 215 



Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, 
prepared as a bride adorned for lier liusband. 
And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, 
* Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and 
he will dwell with them, and they shall be his 
people, and God himself shall be with them, 
and be their God. And God shall wipe all tears 
from their eyes ; and there shall be no more 
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall 
there be any more pain ; for the former things 
are passed away. And the street of the city 
was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 
And I saw no temple tierein ; for the Lord God 
Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of 
the moon, to shine in it ; for the glory of God 
did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 
And the nations of them which are saved shall 
walk in the light of it ; and the kings of the 
earth do bring their glory and honor into it. 
And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by 
day ; for there shall be no night there. And 
they shall bring the glory and honor of the 
nations into it. And there shall in nowise 



216 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 



enter into it anything tliat defiletli. neither 
whatsoever worketli abomination, or maketli a 
lie : but tliev wliicli are Trritten in the Lamb's 
book of life. And there shall be no more curse : 
but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be 
in it ; and his servants shall serve Him ; and 
they shall see His face, and His name sJiall be in 
their foreheads. And there shall be no night 
there; and they need no candle, neither light 
of the sun ; for the Lord God giveth them light : 
and they shall reign forever and ever/'^ 

Such is the future glory of the Church, and of 
its true members. In that glory, my dear friend, 
may you participate. But remember that it is 
•vrritten. Blessed are they that do his command- 
ments, that they may have right to the tree of 
life, and may enter in through the gates into 
the city.'^ 

Yours, 

THE END. 



347 7 7 



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